600 Personal Development Exercises
do one a day - every day!
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THEOLOGY You don’t have to go anywhere, to be with God. He is with you now. You don’t have to say anything, to communicate with God. For he knows you well. You don’t have to give any time to God, for he is time, and he gives this to you. You don’t have to believe in God, for he gives you life and believes in you. You don’t have to apologise to God for he is love, and has forgiven everything. You don’t have to ask God for anything, for it has already been given to you. You don’t have to think of God as ‘out there’ for he is already in you, as you are in him. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Write down your theology - your understanding of what God is. 2. What is your relationship with God? How would you describe this? Day 341 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
WRITER'S BLOCK I have never suffered from writer's block. I have never worried about the words not coming, or writing a daily quota. You see, for me the words are a by-product, and not the main objective. My aim is to sit quietly and this is the process that may, or may not, produce words. The real joy, wonder and contentment comes in the process of sitting quietly. For this is the block we can all build upon each day. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. When do you sit quietly? 2. When do you write the words that are within you? Day 340 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
DECISION MAKING No matter how old you are, you can still change the world. No matter what you’ve been through, you can still change the world. No matter what your current situation is, you can still change the world. It only takes a moment, one new idea, a different thought, an unusual event, a chance encounter, an unexpected conversation, a surprise meeting, or some words of encouragement for you to begin. This is why you’re here, and it will happen. You are about to start afresh. So, get ready to change the world. And if you don’t believe this, then how can it happen? If you don’t think this is possible then how can it begin? And, if you don’t see that I am waiting to help you, then how can you answer? Your age is important, for we all need your experience. What you’ve been through really counts, for we all need your wisdom. The fact that you are still here, tells us, that you can change the world. Everything that has happened has led you here. Your plan is unfolding as it should. And you are reading this now, precisely because, this is the moment you decide to change the world. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Well, are you going to join us? Can you help us to change the world? 2. This is day one of starting afresh - where exactly will you begin? Day 339 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
INVERSE PROPORTION By stepping back from the world. By spending time on our own. By moving further into our being. And by going deeper into ourselves, we in fact move away from all notions of self, to be closer to where we truly belong. By going inwards we really go outwards, and we see more and more, that we are connected to all that ever was, and ever will be. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. How are you learning to go deeper into yourself? 2. What is your 'self'? Day 338 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
KEYWORD Imagine if we could find a way to work together that was for the benefit of those most in need, as well as our own personal interests. Imagine if governments across the world were to work collaboratively, not on the basis of trade, but in looking after everyone on our planet. Imagine if all religions and beliefs were to act together, to help all of those in need. Imagine if all situations of conflict could be transformed, now, to communities of peace. Imagine if we could understands our true purpose, and could live this in every moment. Imagine if we could find something so precious that we give our whole life to it. Imagine that one word holds the key to all of this. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What is this keyword for you? 2. Now that you know this keyword, what are you going to do? Day 337 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
KINDLING We all depend on positive feedback, confirmation that we are doing well, being told that we are making great progress, and that we are loved. We all thrive when others show interest, say 'thank you', tell us (and others), that we are amazing, and, when they encourage us onwards. These inputs from others create new energy within us, for each comment and smile is like kindling for the fire, burning within each of us. Kindling comes from the word kind, and means to initiate and build kindness, in every thought, in every word, in every moment and with every person. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What kindling have you created and shared today? 2. Who is giving you kindling that is sustaining you? 3. What piece of kindling could you initiate and share right now? Day 336 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
WORK Work is simply a method of engaging in prayer. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What is your work all about? 2. What would you really like to work on? Day 335 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
BECOMING Be with me at the start of the day. Be with me throughout the day. Be with me at the end of the day. Be with me in all our thoughts. Be with me in all our actions. Be with me in all our relationships. Be with me in all we were. Be with me in all we are. Be with me in all we will become. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Define what each of these means for you - be, being and becoming? 2. What is the practical day to day outworking of each? How are they each made visible in your day? Day 334 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
RSVP Inclusion is the ongoing invitation for collaboration, participation, sharing and caring, that we send out to others. Inclusion is our offer that requires acceptance. And not everyone will say yes. You cannot take them all with you. And so, inclusion is a continuous and everlasting invitation. It is our individual, organisational and global, lifelong purpose. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Who will you send an invitation of inclusion to today? 2. How is you organisation being inclusive to all its staff, those it serves and the wider international community? 3. How are you reaching out globally to include others ? Day 333 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
MEANING I seem to spend so much time searching for meaning and looking for happiness. Perhaps I need to start in a different place. For when I see myself at the centre of everything, it’s easy to lose my way. The first step I think, is to go deeper within myself to that place of nothingness. It is here that I find all that I need. For here is the reservoir of love, where I can become, at the same time, both all powerful and yet powerless. When I then act, or talk, or interact from this place I do so from a position of all-ness rather than self. By trusting in love, I become one with love. For all becomes possible, when it is no longer about my narrow definition of self, or purpose. I find the meaning of all in this place within me, in power and powerlessness, in all-ness and nothingness. For I am no longer separate from everything, adrift on the sea. I am the sea. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Can you shut out the world and go deeper within yourself? 2. Can you sit for a few minutes in the place of nothingness? Day 332 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
TEAMWORK You must work with us. If you go off on your own to do your own thing, then it’s solely about you. If we could all work together then everything becomes about us, We can help each other to achieve all that we should. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Who is on your team? 2. How are you helping them to achieve all that they should? Day 331 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
VALUE ADDED When we go through our list of previous jobs and roles, we tend to think of the title, responsibilities and payment. We may even reflect on the people we worked with and some of the work we did. And if we keep going we get to that same point in every role, and hope that we did something good, something that lasts. We also realise that our presence becomes embedded as value added in the lives of others, who after we leave, take their turn and make their contribution. So remember, our job outcomes are realised long after we are gone. And when we look back we see that we did something good, something that lasts. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Who did you add value for? 2. How are your job outcomes growing in each role or job that you had? Day 330 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
BIRTHDAY PARTY There is a party in our village when a new baby is born. Families all get together on a Saturday morning at 11am to meet the new arrival, and welcome this new person to our world. We celebrate with smiles and hugs giving thanks for all our lives. We shed a small tear of remembrance for those who have left us. These little parties are literally, staging posts, and the lifeblood of our village. We call this a 'Birth Day' party, for the time of our first days. It’s the informal coming together of family, friends and community. It’s our call to journey with the child and for us all to begin again. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How might you 'journey' with us and 'begin again' this Saturday morning at 11am? 2. Who would have been around at your Birth Day - and what do you imagine they said? Day 329 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
GLASS BOOKCASE He must have been a senior lawyer or perhaps a judge. The extensive law library housed in a beautiful glass bookcase across three walls of his study, bears witness to a serious role and a long commitment to his work. His large oak desk still has the files of papers he was working on. He died two years ago and his ground floor apartment remains largely untouched, although the conservatory wall is in need of some paint. We view the property as potential buyers and see family photos of a grandad, and a bedroom left as if it was just tidied up for our viewing. His home is full of outdated furniture and we learn that, after our judge lost his wife, he lived on here for years, immersed in his retirement. This flat will be sold and cleared out, except for the glass bookcase, which I think, will remain, waiting for new books to arrive. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What books would you treasure and keep in your glass bookcase? 2. What in your life, is your long term commitment to? Day 328 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY Commit yourself to love with all your heart, for this is your passion that is above all passions. Commit yourself to love with all your soul, for this is the part of you that is pure and eternal. Commit yourself to love with all your mind, for this will uncover all that you will ever know. Nurture and cherish the love that is within you and the love that you are. With all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How can you commit yourself to love on this Saint Valentine's Day? 2. What does it mean to nurture and cherish the love within you - with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind? Day 327 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
ENERGY SWITCH Don’t get consumed by it. Don’t get overwhelmed by it. Don’t give all of your thoughts, energy and time to it. It is passing through. It will soon be gone. And you have more important work to do. Switch your thoughts, energy and time to activities worthy of your gifts, your generosity and your love. For this, by far, is the best deal. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What is consuming your energy and taking up so much time, that you do not need? 2. How can you make better use of your gifts, your generosity and your love? Day 326 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
AUTO START Open your eyes. Turn on your ears. Unleash your tongue. Unfold your hands. Switch on your speech. We start up our five senses every morning, in a seamless routine, without acknowledgement or thanks, for these most amazing gifts. So, let us pause and say, Thank you for my seeing today. Thank you for my hearing today. Thank you for my taste today. Thank you for my touch today. Thank you for my voice today. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Which of your five senses are most important to you? 2. Can you describe other senses that you have? I have a sense of ... Day 325 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
WAKE-UP CALL In the quiet of night-time, at three in the morning, when I am supposed to be asleep. My head is full of problems to be solved, and worries about those I love. Instead of these worldly concerns taking me away from God, I find they bring me closer to him. My worries are an open door to be with love, and to work out what we should do. But this is more than problem solving, or a business meeting. This is a joyful relationship with love, at now, four in the morning, whilst the world sleeps. And he is there, every night, for each of us. Waiting to be with us. Waiting to be asked, to sort out the troubles and worries that keep us awake. If we look out our window we see that the problems that consume our thinking, are in fact a blessing, a wake-up call, an invitation and a joyful reminder, of the love that waits for us in the night. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Is there anything that is worrying you? 2. When will you plan an early morning call? Day 324 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
SCALES What if in the bigger scheme of things, failure, is just as important as a success? What if in the bigger scheme of things, inactivity, is just as important as activity? What if in the bigger scheme of things, poverty and pain, are just as valuable as riches and fame? What if in the bigger scheme of things, failure to achieve anything, was just as important as achieving something? What if in the bigger scheme of things, periods of desolation and depression, are just as important as times of excitement and jubilation? What if in the bigger scheme of things, we are using the wrong scales? What if there are no scales and that everything is one? PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How do you measure what is important to you? Day 323 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
STATEMENT OF LOSS Today is my Dad’s anniversary. He died eleven years ago today. I still miss him. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Who do you miss? 2. How will you remember and celebrate them today? Day 322 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
AUDIT You have wisdom Beyond your years. You have understanding Beyond this world. You have gifts Beyond all imagining. You have strength Beyond all constraints You have foresight. Beyond all reason. You have courage Beyond all danger. You have joy beyond all pain. You have hope Beyond all suffering. You have light Beyond all darkness. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. This is your personal audit. Remember to be grateful for your gifts and blessings - and to celebrate your life every day. Day 321 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
ZERO SUM GAME There is nothing, ever, to be afraid of. For love holds you and will always care for you. You, were made to smile. There is nothing, ever, to be frightened of. For love holds you. and is there when you need help. You, were made to laugh. There is nothing, ever, to worry or stress about. For love holds you. and will never let you down. You, were made to shine. There is nothing, ever, to make you anxious. For love holds you and will never let you go. You, were made to be free. There is nothing, ever, to fear. For love holds you forever and ever. And you, were made to be happy. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Can you reach out and trust in love? 2. Can you let love hold you and smile, laugh and shine? 3. Can you journey with love to be free and to be happy? Day 320 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
KINDNESS Personal development is not about me alone. For my personal development is dependent upon many others, especially those who I interact with for food, work, safety, security, energy, health, friendship and love. Personal development is therefore about all of us. It’s about us working together and looking after each other, in ways that enable us all to live happily, and to grow, together. Personal development is about us reaching out and giving to others, so that we can all be safe and well. And yet, in our world we see so many living and dying in shocking conditions. We have been taught to strive for more, put ourselves first and hold onto everything. But in our interconnected world, this approach only serves to make life less secure for ourselves, for our children and for others. Kindness is much more than a nice thing to do. It is our emotional, rational and practical selves acting through initiatives, responses and actions to uncover who we are and see what we can become. Kindness is uncompromising and demanding. It causes us to make choices. It takes us out of our comfort zone. It makes us look at the needs of others. It enables us to understand who we really are. Kindness is the heart of personal development. It's time to put kindness on our curriculum. It's time for kindness policies to drive our workplaces, schools, universities and governments. And it's time for us to build a collaboration of kindness in our world, in our community, in our family and in our day. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Where is kindness in your life and in your workplace? 2. How can you personally, become part of the collaboration of kindness in the world? Day 319 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
READING BETWEEN THE LINES The evening train derailed yesterday. You could see it happening in slow motion, as the engine came off the tracks and lay there. A sorry sight. The driver died. No one else was hurt. Just wreckage and lives, all turned upside down in the moment. And overnight the cranes came and lifted the wreck. Workmen cleared the track. And life goes on as before, for all around. A new train arrived this morning. Others will never know what took place here. It is, as if, for them, that nothing has happened. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What do you read between these lines? 2. What events and sadness are hidden in your lines? Day 318 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
Reactive The bell rings and the dog salivates. Waiting for the next piece of food to arrive. Just because there is a stimulus, doesn’t mean that there has to be a response. Just because someone says something, doesn’t mean that you have to answer. Just because something happens, doesn’t mean that you have to act. Just because your phone pings. Just because an email arrives. Just because the time says so. Just because social media keeps talking. It is when we stop being controlled by external activities, that we can begin to listen to internal whispers. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How do you invest your time? 2. Who or what can controls your behaviour at times? 3. What might you say 'no response' to? Day 317 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
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