Des McCabe
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600 Personal Development Exercises

do one a day - every day!

What is Click and Collect for people?

4/30/2020

 

CLICK AND COLLECT

Sometimes we can act like a tortoise
moving very slowly
step-by-step,
sometimes making progress,
and sometimes
standing still.

But what if we were a seagull
kicking off from a standing start,
zooming at great pace ,
covering vast distances,
deciding where to land and  then
mmediately placing ourselves there?

Let's re-design our delivery.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What is your starting point?
2. Where do you want to get to?
3. Now think like a seagull - and  create a new route....


Day 38 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is your Ambition?

4/29/2020

 

AMBITION

The main task that you’re working on
at the moment is really a small thing.
Beyond this there is a larger task
that you are easily capable of.
Just think for a moment
what is this larger task?
For this is what you should be doing.
This should be your focus.

And beyond this larger task
is a greater task
one of real significance,
that you are easily capable of.
Just think for a moment
what is this greater task?
For this is what you should be doing.
This should be your focus.

And beyond this greater task
is the greatest task
where all of your effort should be,
that you are easily capable of.
Just think for a moment
what is the greatest task?
For this is what you should be doing.
This should be your focus.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What is the key task that you are working on now? 
2. What is the 'larger task', the 'greater task' beyond this and the 'greatest task'?
3. What is the level of your ambition?
​

Day 37 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Can we De-clutter ourselves?

4/28/2020

 

 DE-CLUTTER 

Clear out your office.
Empty your cabinets and
get rid of your old papers.
Close the door behind you.
 
We don't have to continue doing
what we've always done.
We don't have to carry
all of our imperfect past with us
 
We can dispose of our papers and
separate out what we no longer need.
We can start afresh
from wherever we are.
 
Unburden yourself from your past.
Leave boxes and bags behind.
Take only that which gives  you
 joy, peace and happiness.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Are you ready to clear out 'your office'? What do you no longer need to hold onto? 
2. What is it that give you joy, peace and happiness?
3. What does your 'fresh start' look like?
​

Day 36 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is Contribution?

4/27/2020

 

​CONTRIBUTION 
 
If we are not different
we are just more of the same.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. We are different to others and we all have a different contribution to make. What is your contribution?
2. Our future life is not just ‘more of the same’. It is not just extending what has happened up to now. How will you be different? ​


Day 35 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Why is failure important in Meditation?

4/26/2020

 

MEDITATION MASTERCLASS

And when nothing happens,
nothing seems to work and
there is no conversation,
then recognise that this is
about just sitting and just being.

There is no need for productivity.
There is no need for thought.
There is no need for inspiration.
Just sit with no expectation.
Just relax. Just be in that moment.

For our failure to meditate or reflect
or pray or even sit, takes us closer
to our greatest success.
When the world wants to drag us back,
stay with the failure.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Create some 'me time' and just sit on your own with no thoughts and no expectations.
2. Write down what happens - and remember there is no such thing as 'failure' or 'this doesn't  work  for me' .
3. Rinse and repeat this process when you can. 


Day 34 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is the Assimilation Effect?

4/25/2020

 

ASSIMILATION EFFECT
 

My perfect day is made up of
hundreds of imperfect moments.
Each one is amazing and magical
and yet not perfect.

You see, this day isn’t just a collection
of hundreds of imperfect moments
but rather a unique composition
that makes today perfect.

It’s a realisation and an understanding
that goes beyond the individual pieces
of each day and pulls together a picture
that is perfection in itself.

I go beyond a ‘sum of the parts’ valuation.
I look beyond the moments and activities
and realise just what is happening
with me, within me and around me.

Perfect happiness exists in each of us
in all of those imperfect, day to day interactions
and unique moments that characterise
who and what we are.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Write down some of the imperfect moments of your day - taking today or yesterday as your case study. Why was each of these moments  imperfect?
2. Now, 'flip' each of these and ask what was the 'unique moment' in each interaction or activity for you? 
3. How do you look back on this day in its entirety?
​

Day 33 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What do we mean by Give and Take?

4/24/2020

 

GIVE AND TAKE

In the world of want I strive for more.
More income, a bigger house or a better job.
Recognition, popularity or a sense of importance.
 
In the world of plenty I have more than I need.
From this place I can reach out to you,
free to share all that I have and all that I am.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. List 5 times or situations when you have been in the world of more.
2. List 5 times or situations when you have been in the world of plenty.
​3. What do these 10 points tell you about yourself?


Day 32 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is a Personal Needs Analysis?

4/23/2020

 

NEEDS ANALYSIS

​​Sometimes there is
no need to think
no need to speak
no need to act.
 
Sometimes we
just need to stop
just need to sit
just need to be.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Find a quiet place with no distractions. Sit down and relax. Try and empty you brain of all thoughts. Deliberately leave a space of nothingness. Keep coming back to this emptiness. Just be.  
2. At the finish time, write down what happened and what you've learned.
3. Repeat the above process every day for five days.
​

Day 31 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is Inclusion?

4/22/2020

 

​INCLUSION

Inclusion is made real
through the rain
watering all of our crops
wherever they may be.
No preconditions,
no preferences,
reliably and consistently.

Inclusion is made real
through the sunshine
warming all of us
wherever we may be.
No preconditions,
no preferences,
reliably and consistently.

Inclusion is made real
through each of us
reaching out to others
wherever they may be.
No preconditions,
no preferences,
reliably and consistently.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Does you inclusion policy at work focus on everyone or only on certain categories of people? How might you begin to change this? 
2. At a personal level, who are you reaching out to?
​

Day 30 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is a Personal Stocktake?

4/21/2020

 

STOCKTAKE
 
My display until date is Thursday
My best before date is Friday
My use by date is Saturday
My recycling date is Sunday

When should I take stock?

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What are you including in your next personal Stocktake?
2. What are you counting and measuring?
3. How often do you need to Stocktake? 


Day 29 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

How can I get more Business?

4/20/2020

 

KEY WORKER

 Are you looking for more clients,
slowly building your email list
or trying to learn online marketing?

 Are you promoting yourself or your business
on Facebook or Instagram and doing all the 'stuff'
you hear so much about on the internet?

 Are you being sucked into apps and
websites that promise amazing opportunities
but cost you money?

 Have you been on training courses
or webinars that always
end up selling to you?

 You can spend a fortune on other peoples’ products
trying to earn more money
and build your future.

 You can waste your precious time
chasing activities and learning the latest things
that just don’t count.
​
 Do what you should be doing.
Follow your own path
and use your skills to help others.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How would you describe your path? 
2. How can you use your skills and experience in more ways and in new ways to help others?


Day 28 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Is Faith the same as Love?

4/19/2020

 

MULTI-FAITH
 
You do not need to have faith
to fulfil your purpose.
You do not need to have any religion
to fulfil your purpose.
 
Your purpose is love.
For love is our faith and our religion.
Unique in each of us, in all that we are
and all that we are here to do.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Write down your personal definitions for each of the following three words - faith, religion and love.

Day 27 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

How can we create a New recipe?

4/18/2020

 

OUTSIDE CATERING

The boss and employee relationship
is deeply flawed.
It is not a true construct
for it restricts both parties.
 
We can only bring a fixed menu
to the job table.
And it’s the same meals every day
in every workplace.
 
We all leave behind
kitchens full of food,
unused equipment and
books of recipes, unopened..

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. List all of the skills, experience, interests and knowledge that you leave at home when you go to work.
2. What new 'recipe' might  you create today?
3. How will you build your 'Outside Catering' business? ​


Day 26 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is our Operating System?

4/17/2020

 

​OPERATING SYSTEM
​
​Spirituality is not something airy-fairy.
It is simply the way that we give meaning
to all that we are and all that we do.
It is the fabric of who we are.

Spiritually isn’t outside of us
or detached from us.
It is our operating system
silently working away.

PERSONAL DEVERLOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How would you define your Operating System?
2. What keeps you going?
3. How often do you check on it, service it or update your Operating System?


Day 25 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is your biggest Asset?

4/16/2020

 

SWOT ANALYSIS

​'The Hide Away Pub'.
Can you turn
​your greatest perceived weakness
into your biggest asset?

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
​What is you greatest perceived limitation (weakness) at the moment? 
List 5 possible ways to get over, around or through this.


Day 24 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What does Leapfrog mean for us?

4/15/2020

 

​LEAP YEAR
 
The core personal development question is
‘what am I really capable of?’
And the answer is not
just about business or work or money.
 
It’s about who we are and
looking beyond our perceived limitations.
It’s about growing into our capacity
even if we cannot perceive it fully.
 
This is the search for something
we never thought we would look at
even though deep down
we know we have the potential.
 
This is the leapfrog.
It’s not linear or cumulative or predictable.
It’s about us leaving our lily pad
and just going.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What are you really capable of? 
2. What have you never thought you could do? 
3. What does your new lily pad look like? 


Day 23 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is a Free Range human?

4/14/2020

 

​FREE RANGE
 
We are trapped like chickens
 snatching at all in front of us.
We are going nowhere fast.
doing more of the same in our cage,
just like everyone else.
 
The tiny baby is asleep in her cot.
Snug as a bug in a rug.
Content and happy.
Watched over by her mother and father,
and has not a care in the world.
 
Let us step out of our cage
with the mindset of a child
and just be ourselves.
To trust in love
and sleep in peace.​

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What is a free range human?
2. What will be different for us when we escape from our lockdown? ​


Day 22 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

When does the Sun rise?

4/13/2020

 
​​
BATTERY LIFE 

 
Each morning without fail
the sun rises on the horizon.
Slowly emerging into full view
so bright that I cannot look for long.
 
Each morning without fail
the sun rises on the horizon
whatever the circumstances
whatever I’m doing.
 
Each morning without fail
the sun rises on the horizon.
Before I was here and after I am gone
the sun rises on the horizon.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 
1. Make a plan to sit and watch a sunrise. Take a notebook with you....

Day 21 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is your New Beginning?

4/12/2020

 

EASTER SUNDAY

The front door will open soon
and we shall walk out
with gratitude and joy.
Off for a coffee.
To meet up with friends,
to be together and laugh again.
 
The front door will open soon
and we shall walk out
with gratitude and joy.
Remembering all.
To a different life, a better way
and our new beginning.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. When Covid-19 has passed what will be your gratitude and joy?
2. What will be your new beginning?


Day 20 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is between Death and Life?

4/11/2020

 

WAITING ROOM

​It’s a strange place.
Sitting alone in this waiting room
wondering what time the train will arrive,
​indeed if it will arrive
and if it will stop here.
 
I am stuck here, helpless
between Good Friday and Easter Sunday
on this silent Saturday, sitting and waiting.
Between death and life.
Between this world and eternity.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
Waiting rooms are interesting  places. They hold us for a time between where we were and where we are going.
1. Where are you on your journey?  
2. What are you waiting on at this moment? ​
(This was written on Holy Saturday (between Good Friday and Easter Sunday)


Day 19 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is Out Of The Box thinking?

4/10/2020

 

DIVERSIFYING
 
Networking with flowers.
Growing rainbows.
Building waves.
Talking to carrots.
Waiting on seahorses.
Holding time.
Investing in mornings.
Collecting clouds.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Can you escape from your normal thinking and behaviour?
2. Can you create totally out of the box concepts that bring you into a new space? 
​

Day 18 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Are you still Photocopying?

4/9/2020

 

PHOTOCOPYING
  
To make money just copy
someone else's product or business.
I'm sure you can make it
cheaper or improve it.
 
Add a new feature,
make it faster,
quicker acting
or longer lasting.
 
To change lives
and change the world,
create your own solution.
Are you still photocopying?

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How much of what you do is photocopying?
2. What is your idea to make things better in our world or to help others? What's the first step? ​


Day 17 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is your Fog?

4/8/2020

 

MENTAL HEALTH
 
The fog arrived.
Stopped all traffic
in and out.
 
The internal systems
couldn’t function.
Stuck in neutral.
 
Life goes on.
Maintenance tasks get done.
Nothing else.
 
All communication
has ceased.
Nothing is there.
 
The fog usually disperses
in a day.
This is taking longer.
 
Two days on
all is gridlocked.
Maybe tomorrow.​

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What is your fog?
2. What impact does it have on you?
3. When and how does your fog clear? ​

Day 16 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Is your Glass Half Full?

4/7/2020

 

SCIENCE BASED
 
My three-year-old granddaughter
explained to me
that the glass isn’t
half full or
half empty.
 
It’s all full.
Half full of water
and half full of air.
Sometimes we don’t see
the full picture.​

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What's in your glass? 
2. What are the visible and invisible parts of your life? 


Day 15 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is the Fifteen Year Plan?

4/6/2020

 

​LOCKDOWN

Peter May wrote a book
in 2005 called Lockdown.
It was rejected by publishers
for being ‘extremely unrealistic
and unreasonable’.

For fifteen years his story
about a virus transforming all our lives
could not be imagined.
And then, a week ago
Lockdown was finally published. 

So how do we imagine
the next fifteen years
for our lives, for our family,
for starving children, for our planet,
for society and for peace?

For Lockdown is more than a book
or a state of social isolation.
Lockdown is our freedom
to create the ‘extremely unrealistic
and unreasonable’.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What's the 'extremely unrealistic and unreasonable' future that you would like to see unfold?
2. Write down your story... please!


Day 14 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
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