Personal Growth Boost for Mothers

Give Yourself a Personal Growth Boost

Personal Growth is one petal on the Project Me Life Wheel®, yet Project Me as a whole is about your personal development. Life never stands still, it’s constantly evolving and changing. You can either see it as a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride, or you can find ways to make it all less hair-raising.

Focusing on your self-development is far from selfish. When you transform yourself, you transform the world around you including, of course, your immediate family.

We’ve all heard the saying, ‘If mama’s happy, everybody’s happy!’ and this is certainly true from my perspective. Just ask my family.

It’s normal to flit back and forth between your Best Version (the one who’s patient, calm, kind, relaxed and lighthearted) and your Poor Version (you know, that other one who’s irritable, impatient, worried or overwhelmed).

But wouldn’t you love to be the Best Version of You more often?

If I were to create a graph chart of my own personal growth over the years it would show a rather zig zagged line upwards until recently when it suddenly shot way up.

Personal Growth Chart

You’d see growth surges at certain times, such as when I discovered yoga and began attending positive thinking workshops at my local Sivananda centre. There’s an overall steady progression – with lots of dips along the way.

A surge would appear again whenever I read an inspirational book that got my cogs turning about my life.

Around seven years ago I finally identified Personal Growth as one of my 8 Key Life Areas that needs regular attention. I created a Personal Mastermind and began meeting with my Power Posse once a month, rating this area of my life on a score of 1-10. When I noticed a low score, I’d make more of an effort to do some yoga, read a great book, journal write, attend a positive workshop or take a course.

You’d see a spike in my chart when I read The Magic alongside doing the 28-day written exercises or when I started my gratitude journal.

Then I began a morning practice of waking before the kids and staying in bed to write in my gratitude journal or meditate. And setting a monthly date with myself and my Project Me. The chart looks less choppy and grows steadily upwards.

I received a huge personal growth boost when I read Ask & It Is Given by Esther Hicks. I was ready for that book by then and it resonated with every cell in my body. It would have been too far-out and woo woo for me any earlier.

In September 2015 my 16 year old son and I began a morning E.F.T. Tapping session before school. (I’ll record a video soon to show you how we do it.)  It’s helped us both to love and accept ourselves and others exactly as we/they are. My self-talk became much more friendly and I’ve tamed my mean inner critic.

In January 2016 two new practices collided which have catapulted my personal growth to all time high levels.

1. I began attending a weekly Kundalini yoga class with Gabrielle Thill. I’ve done many types of yoga before, but Kundalini is so deeply spiritual and I float out of each class feeling light, free and in the flow. (Flow is my word of the year!)

2. I discovered the Insight Timer meditation app. Meditation is one of those things I’ve always felt I ‘should’ be doing and I certainly tried on and off over the years. But this particular app is what has finally created a daily meditation habit for me and is something I actually look forward to the moment I wake up. I need a lot of variety or I get bored and restless, so I love it that there are thousands of guided meditations of varying lengths and subjects to choose from. I’m like a kid in a candy store each morning as I choose which one I’ll listen to that day. It’s like getting a daily valuable lesson in personal growth and sometimes I’ll listen to a 2-5 minute meditation to re-set me again during the day and another one before bed. Yep, I’m addicted!

Six months later and I feel like I have a direct hotline to the Universe. I feel connected in such a powerful way. I live with much more purpose. I’m better able to observe emotions as they rise and fall without attaching myself to them as strongly as I used to. I’m rolling with the punches a lot easier. And there’s been a very BIG punch lately. 

I’m not sure what the next phase of my personal growth will bring me but I know that by keeping up my regular practices I won’t let that graph chart go all zig-zagged again. I can keep it rising up steadily.

I’m turning 50 very soon and it’s exciting to think that if I live to be 100 (which I think I will!), I am now only halfway there. If my personal growth keeps progressing at this rate, I have a very exciting next half of my life to experience!

Now, what about you? Are you towards the beginning of your personal growth journey? Does it feel steadily rising or is it full of ups and downs? What can you be doing to give yourself a personal growth boost? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Be sure to go back and follow some of the links I’ve underlined above to see if any of my personal growth boost tips resonate with you. And share any of your own resources here with all of us too.

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17 Comments

  1. Jo on June 30, 2016 at 12:02 PM

    You continue to be such an inspiration to me Kelly. I can feel a surge in my personal growth since I began getting your newsletters around a year ago. I’m in your group within the Insight Timer app and I get so much out of this recommendation and so many of the other things you’ve suggested in your blogs.

    I’m sorry you’re going through a challenging time, but I know that with your positive outlook you will come out the other side shining as brightly as ever! x

    • Kelly Pietrangeli on June 30, 2016 at 10:04 PM

      This warms my heart to think that I have a role in your own surge of personal growth Jo. I’ve had so many teachers and influential people come through my life to rub a bit of their wisdom onto me. I’m so happy to do the same for others. Thanks for your lovely comment 🙂

  2. Louisa on June 30, 2016 at 12:07 PM

    OMG Kelly, I’ve FORGOTTEN my word of the year!!!! I think it may have been “imagine”. Whoops. Anyway, another great post. Love your graph. Mine has similar aha moments and a similar (mostly) upward curve. I am completely addicted to Insight Timer too. I LOVE it!!! I am a tiny step closer to accepting Ask And It Is Given into my life! I’ll get there! BTW, I write “Project Me” or “Kelly” or “my growth buddy” or words to that effect almost on a daily basis in my gratitude diary. Thanks so much for all that you do, you have made such a difference in my life, and the day I came across your Tiny Buddha Vision Board post (I realised the other day that’s how we “met”) was definitely a massive surge on my upward curve! Big hugs to get you through this uncertain time. Keep me posted on the Kundalini. I live in hope I’ll be able to get to another class very soon. An afternoon one might be easier, if Gabrielle has that option. <3 <3

    • Kelly Pietrangeli on June 30, 2016 at 10:08 PM

      I’ve just gone back to the Word of The Year blog post to read the comments and see if you left your WOTY there, but I don’t see it or I’d give you a reminder!

      So happy you’re loving Insight Timer too and I’m honoured to be named in your daily gratitude practice, I truly am.

      I’m excited to witness your surges in personal growth and hope you’ll keep sharing these stories with me Louisa! xx

      • Louisa on July 8, 2016 at 7:36 AM

        Aww, thanks for checking the comments from your WOTY post. I did that too! It’s not like me not to leave one! (Probably because I was on holiday at the time and not on the Internet so much.) I’m fairly sure my word was “imagine”, and I’m choosing it now anyway for the 2nd half of the year. Sometimes it’s good to start over. 😀 Oh, and I just did the 25 minutes toward Dream Fulfillment meditation on Insight Timer again this morning, (first time in a while, cos I’d gone back down to 10 min ones). It is such a wonderful meditation for remembering to acknowledge your blessings and to continue to visualise your dreams for the future. Powerful stuff! X

        • Kelly Pietrangeli on July 9, 2016 at 8:39 PM

          I recently listened to that meditation again too Louisa and WOW it’s so powerful!! I’m curious about this word ‘Imagine’ and what that means to you in relation to your life in 2016? x

          • Louisa on July 10, 2016 at 8:02 AM

            **Looong answer alert!** Well, it’s all about the law of least effort and just taking the time to visualise outcomes I want (both on a big scale -like my dream of writing a book- and on a small scale -like needing a parking space on a busy day). I’ve always been a daydreamer and since reading Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain and some other books, I try to incorporate positive daydreaming into my life on a daily basis, but I sometimes forget – and that’s when the opposite happens – worrying about bad stuff happening tends to create more of it. So for me in 2016, it means more vision boards, more manifestation meditations and (possibly the most powerful but also the most simple) just taking a few minutes, as I lie in bed before I go to sleep, to be grateful for the wonderful things that day/in my life, and visualising some nie outcomes for the day(s) ahead. Or even, as I set off in my car, taking a couple of breaths, and visualising getting to my destination effortlessly and landing the perfect parking spot! 😀



  3. Mary Frances Bellman on June 30, 2016 at 2:22 PM

    You continue to inspire! xo Mary Frances

  4. Gabrielle on June 30, 2016 at 8:47 PM

    You are doing so great Kelly.
    Just try to be at peace with any decision you and your family might take… Rely on your intuition and let you guide… with confidence.
    xoxo,
    Gabrielle

    • Kelly Pietrangeli on June 30, 2016 at 10:10 PM

      Your classes have touched me so deeply Gabrielle and indeed I am learning a lot about listening more to my intuition. I’m sure my word for next year will be Intuition! Thanks for these added words of wisdom xxx

      • Louisa on July 8, 2016 at 7:38 AM

        Such good advice, Gabrielle. I am learning to follow my intuition too. I look forward to your next class. Feliz verano. xxx

  5. Mariah on July 3, 2016 at 7:26 PM

    Loved this post, Kelly!

    I am a freaking mess since summer started, I’m not going to lie. With my four kids home with me all day long, I get nothing “work” related done. I’ve stopped meditating and writing in my gratitude journal because I don’t “have time.”

    I hate how I feel right now. Before school got out, I was feeling awesomely zen-like all day (because of my dedication to meditating and tapping as needed) but now, I’m back to frazzled.

    So I HAVE to find a way to fit is all in, and I’m determined to.

    Also, I’m filing this away for the future. Once the kids return to school, I’m going to work like crazy to get 3 months ahead, and stay there, so that I can relax over the summers, and enjoy that special time with our girls.

    xx

    Mariah

    • Kelly Pietrangeli on July 5, 2016 at 12:28 PM

      I feel for you Mariah and I relate so deeply to your struggle of maintaining any degree of Me Time over the summer school break and also for wanting to get work done.

      Have you got the Project Me Summer Strategy Kit? http://myprojectme.com/summer-planning-printables/

      I know it may feel “too late” but it’s not, and whilst you won’t need every one of the 24 worksheets, I’ll highly recommend My Dream Summer and Me Time. These will help you get clear about what you HAVE to get done and what you WANT to do this summer.

      It’s one of those things where you think in your head that you don’t have enough time to fill in the worksheets or you don’t believe they’ll help … But once you do it, you’ll realise how powerful it is. You’ll figure out ways to integrate that essential meditation and tapping into your days

      Think of your vibrational frequently often and ask yourself if you are vibrating at a high or low frequency. Raise your frequently by breathing deeply, switching your mindset, looking for the good, feeling grateful.

      And as for work – summer takes on different priorities and it’s worth looking at what you can ease up on. You simply can’t do everything. Listen to your heart and your values and prioritise the things that really matter right now.

      I hope this helps. May the rest of your summer be much smoother sailing! xx

  6. […] Try keeping a gratitude journal, meditating, reading inspirational books or exploring mindfulness techniques. I wrote a whole blog about how I’ve greatly improved my life by giving myself some personal growth boosters. […]

  7. Julia oldham on August 22, 2016 at 5:43 PM

    Great blog once again ! You always make me think and remind me of things I am doing that are working and I don’t acknowledge enough and things I mean to try.

    I had joined your insight group on reading a previous post but not really tried many of the meditations – can I ask how you decide which to do each day the choice is overwhelming.

  8. Alpa Pandya on February 21, 2017 at 2:20 PM

    For me, my personal growth had a huge boost when I met my mentor. He seemed to have all the answers and he helped me figuring my own. Now I just pay it forward by helping others find theirs. It’s extremely rewarding!

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