5 stages of Personal Development and Transforming your Life

With every new skill we learn life there is a pattern to our development. Just think about when you learnt to ride a bike or an education. It is the same with your Personal Development Journey.

Working on yourself is a journey of evolution.

In some respects its a never ending journey, or at least in my opinion it should be. However like every other process of evolution there is a pattern to the growth we experience when learning something new.  It can be really helpful whether you are starting your personal growth journey or in the middle of it to have an understanding of the pattern. It helps bring clarity and give you motivation when the journey gets a little tough along the way. And allows you to accept that you are on a learning journey.

Working with personal development over the years I have discovered there are 5 stages that everyone seems to experience on a personal development and transformation journey. And although these stages look different in everyone’s lives we all seem to go through these stages. 

Asleep and awakening

When you are asleep you are not aware that you have the ability to affect your life, transform your reality and have the power to make the changes you want. If you are reading this you have probably already ‘woken up’ to this power. But take a look back to the before. The time where your conditioning, fears and old assumptions ruled you. When we are asleep we don’t take responsibility for our lives. We play the victim. We can’t see the solutions and often don’t look for them. Some people describe this stage as a human being, rather than a human doing. When you wake up is the point where you realise you have a part to play in your life and decide to begin taking responsibility to make the changes. And it is this decision that begins the start of your personal development journey. It is the beginning of your journey of transformation.

Searching

Once you have awoken you begin to search. You look for the patterns within your life. You ask yourselves why things happen. Not as a poor me response but you look for why you called these things into your life. You ask what are the lessons to be learnt. It is here where you have many new realizations. When you search you become conscious about your life’s journey and the part you play as a creator of that journey. You begin the stage of living consciously and begin to understand your own power. 

Gathering

The gathering stage is where you begin to look for information and inspiration. You may find yourself collecting books, watching inspirational videos or reaching out to a life coach. Here you begin to collect ideas about the action you can take to change your life. 

Experimentation

With all of this new information you are raring to go and you begin to experiment with the new ideas, processes and practices to change your life. Often people try a lot at once and I would caution it is better to start with one thing simply and thoroughly rather than throwing yourself into to many life changes. If you over bombard yourself with lots of changes there is a likelihood of not succeeding because you are simply trying to take on too mucha. And that’s where you will retreat into old patterns of behaviour simply because they are comfortable. As you experiment you will find ways to make the tools you are using your own. Adapting them to your lifestyle. And that is one of the MOST IMPORTANT parts of experimentation, finding a way that works for you. 

Failing

Rome wasn’t built in a day. It took work. It took mistakes. And it took learning. The same is true for you. You will fail. Or fall of the personal development horse. It is important here to recognise why you failed and what you need to do differently. Stay conscious of the teachings. Become the 3 year old that constantly asks why. Be curious about your failures. Learn from your mistakes. And importantly don’t give up. Remember how many bruises you got falling off that bike. But you kept going and you got there. If you give up nothing will change for the better. One foot in front of the other. Keep moving forward and you will succeed. 

Integration

Integration happens when you shift from knowing to doing. Here conscious living and conscious living are the daily norm. You feel acceptance for where you are and what you are doing in your life. You life has transformed to a place you wanted to be. In integration you have a strong idea about your purpose, what you feel passionate about and generally happier within your life. Integration is not the end of your evolution. It is the platform for all your growth in the future. A strong foundation of an empowered life. Where you are the one in charge. Where you are the creator of your destiny. 

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So what happens when you reach the 5th stage?  Well funnily enough it all happens again. If we don’t continue to evolve we stagnate. Growth is a constant process and you may find yourself repeating the stages as you get new insight and understanding. 

Transformation is a constant process. This is not a cover all growth process but it might give you a structure to your personal development and transformation journey. 

I would love to know if this resonates with you? Which stage you are on right now? 

Let me know in the comments below

Enjoy your journey and have a lovely week 

<3 Emma-Jane 

P.s If you want to get support on your Personal Development journey check out my life coaching services and let me help you transform your life!