Des McCabe
  • Books
  • Exercises

600 Personal Development Exercises

do one a day - every day!

Who's in charge at Mission Control?

6/8/2021

 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

When I sit down at my desk
in the morning, it’s like
taking my seat at Mission Control.

For this is no ordinary desk.
It has a laptop that connects me
to the world!

I power up the machine and
all is laid out before me.
What shall we do today?

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How is your laptop at the heart of your Mission Control? 
2. What is your Mission?
​3. What shall you do today?
​

Day 441 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What makes an outstanding Consultant?

6/6/2021

 

CONSULTANCY SKILLS
 
It’s sometimes hard
to be a leader,
to stand out and
to stand alone.
 
This is the primary role
of a Consultant.
To have a perspective
and to lead.
 
Our role is to challenge
the value system,
for how else can we
give value for money?
 
And how else
will we enable others
to make changes,
that can make a difference?
 
We will not always
win the contract, for many
do not want to listen,
or change.
 
At times, we are all
called as Consultants,
to stand out and 
to stand alone.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. When did you last take a stand or give a different opinion to others? 
​2. What are your core values? Write these down.....
​

Day 439 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is Situational Leadership?

5/26/2021

 

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
 
We all behave differently
in different situations,
and with different people.
We are not the same person
at work, as we are at home.
It’s like when we play cards.
We respond to the hand that
we are faced with.

​ We adapt to situations,
the culture, the key factors,
and the expectations of others.
But what do we do, when their
values do not align with ours?
What do we do, when we disagree
with what is said, or expected of us?
Do we twist or stick?

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. When do you  stick - i.e., go along with what is happening?
2. When do you twist - i.e., say this is not the way that you work, or what you agree with?


Day 428 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is New Leadership?

5/16/2021

 

NEW LEADERSHIP

​When we lead from the front
we need to keep stopping,
from time to time.
We need to look behind
and check if others
are still following us.
 
If they are not there,
it’s pretty clear that we
are not much of a leader.
 
And if others are there,
 they will think that we are
not much of a leader,
if we keep looking
over our shoulder, and checking
that they are still there.
 
If we lead from the back, we
encourage everybody to move
 forward, including ourselves.

 We can see everyone,
the whole picture, and we can
help those who may stumble.
The New Leaders are starting 
 from where they are now,
From the back. 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE?
1. How can you start to build and lead others today - from where you are now? 

Day 418 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What are the Four Laws of Leadership?

5/12/2021

 

THE FOUR LAWS OF LEADERSHIP
 
Try to serve and help others,
in their own space.
 
Try not to lead others,
into your space.
 
Try not to talk to others
about you, or your space.
 
Focus on others,
in their space.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE?
1. Take each of these four laws of Leadership and apply them to a situation in your life. 
2. How can you become a better leader?


Day 414 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What are Real Followers?

3/25/2021

 

​REAL FOLLOWERS

If you don’t have a dream,
 then make sure,
that you follow
someone who does.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Do you have a dream you are working towards?
2. Who are you following?


Day 366 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

How can I boost my Personal Productivity?

12/18/2020

 

PRODUCTIVITY

I am at my most productive
when I’m least efficient.
When I don’t have a to do list.
When there is no schedule.
​
When I go off-piste and
my mind has no barriers
or constraints, to keep it on track.
This is where my real productivity is.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. When are you at your most productive?
​2. What does productivity mean for you?


Day 269 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Are Facilitators really Leaders?

11/8/2020

 

FACILITATION SKILLS​

The greatest skill
of a facilitator
is to do nothing.
To let people talk,
together,
and allow them to find
the best way forward.
 
You see it’s not about
the facilitator,
nor indeed the topic.
It’s about enabling individuals
to move forward,
purposefully and securely,
together.
 
So as a facilitator,
be kind and smile.
Set the scene or task.
Encourage your groups
and then leave them to it.
Your best results come
when you do nothing.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. ​
1. When do you use facilitation skills – at work, online or at home?
2. In which situations might you do less (or nothing) and let others find a way forward?


Day 229 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

Can we think outside our Bubbles?

8/24/2020

 

BUBBLEWRAP

When I started my daily reflections at the beginning
of the Covid-19 lockdown, I never imagined that
I would go to a hundred days, never mind Book Two.
 
For what started out as a short sprint has now
become a marathon for all of us.
We’ve had to adjust in incredible ways.

Our normal relationships of family, work colleagues
and community have been disassembled
and we have been left floundering, trying to understand
 and to recreate ways of living, being and working.

We keep getting different rules that
only increase our uncertainty and stress.
And there is little to address the isolation,
 loneliness, sadness and fear that is being felt by so many.
 
Without a training manual we are having
to rewire our brains, reconfigure our thinking
and reprogram who we are. Some are gradually
adapting but so many are struggling.

In the coming days and weeks and months
don’t shrink into yourself, don’t hide in your bubble
and don’t close your door. Be gentle on yourself
and reach out to others.

We all need to know if you’re learning to cope
with the challenges that are unknown,
the new ways you are discovering, and the
pieces of joy that you found in this difference.

So, as we look out at our world, floundering
with no plan and no certainty, let us each grasp
the opportunity to ask for help, seek support
and reach out in our own way.
 
Let us remember today, those without internet,
those on their own, the millions of people
 directly affected by Covid-19 and the loss of
loved ones. So many are literally trapped.
 
But many of us are not
so what are we going to do?  
Let us all think and act
outside our bubbles.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How can you be gentle with yourself today?
2. How can you reach out and share with others in a new way? 


Day 154 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What are the three Main Types of Thinking?

8/10/2020

 

THINKING SKILLS
 

If we waken up
and then just pick up
where we left off yesterday,
we are doing more
of what we have already done.
This is cumulative thinking.
 
If we waken up
and then something unexpected
hits us, we have to reassess everything.
Our day is turned upside-down
as we work out what to do next.
This is reactive thinking.

If we waken up
and then choose to begin
something new or different today,
we are creating a fresh opportunity.
We are uncovering our new way.
This is deliberate thinking.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What thought can help you to uncover your new way today?

Day 140 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is Inactive Leadership?

8/3/2020

 

ACTION LEADERSHIP

We see lack of activity
as being ineffective, 
or being lazy
or non productive.

We have forgotten
how to sit and wait, 
to be content

and trust that all is well.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. Do you take time to be ineffective, lazy and non productive?
2. Have you learned to sit and trust that all is well?
3. Do you know what you are waiting for? 

Day 133 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is Personal Leadership?

7/27/2020

 

TOW ROPE
 
The world keeps
pulling us back
to its way of working.
To follow its rules.
To behave in the way
that it wants us to be.
 
Untie the rope.

The world keeps
taking us to places
away from where we should be.
Away from all we value
Away from our true selves,
to be dependent on it.
 
Untie your rope.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How is the world pulling you back?  
2. How is the world taking you away from where you should be? 
3. How can you untie your rope?


Day 126 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

How do your respond to Breaking News?

7/17/2020

 

BREAKING NEWS
 
All the birds
are chirping away
loudly and enthusiastically.
All talking at the same time.
It’s deafening!
 
And then, total silence
as they fly off together
to do what they must do.
Responding to breaking news
in their world.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What ‘breaking news’ is happening in your world?
2. How will you respond?


Day 116 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What is a Pilgrim?

5/19/2020

 

LEADERSHIP

​Leadership is not about changing roles
or shifting direction.
It is not about team development
or business strategy.

Leadership is a fundamental shift
in  our being - what we are, how we  think,
the priorities we set
and how we behave.

Leadership is a behavioural,
emotional and spiritual process. 
It's rewiring the hard disk of our being
for a completely different output.

We are no longer 
mass market products
​of the consumer age
but  pilgrims with a purpos
e. 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What does it mean to be a 'pilgrim with a purpose'?
2. What are your outputs? 
3. How can you rewire your being for a different type of leadership?
​


Day 57 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

How can I hit my Target?

4/4/2020

 

​HITTING TARGETS
 
If you throw a stone
to hit a stick in the water
you can easily miss.
Try again.
 
If you keep repeating this
you can miss many times
using up your resources.
And time.
 
You can however pick up a handful of pebbles
and throw them all together
easily bombarding your target.
Instantly.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 
1. What targets are you trying to hit - at work, at home, relationships, personal, health, career, future, etc?
2. Where are your pebbles?


Day 12 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

What type of Leader are you?

4/1/2020

 

​                                              HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

Light bulb Managers

​Visionaries with a caring and responsive approach to others.
·       They shine
·       They provide inspiration for others
·       They are most visible when things are tough
·       They respond immediately
·       They are constant
·       They do not discriminate with their support.

Wardrobe Managers
 
Strong on organisation skills, presentation and personal development
·       They review objectives each morning
·       They plan their weeks in advance
·       They regularly add new skills and review resources
·       They clear out the deadwood as required
·       They are very aware of first impressions.
 
Attic Managers

Seen as largely inaccessible and irrelevant in today’s business.
·       They hoard (take rather than give)
·       They work in the dark
·       They are locked away and are rarely seen.
·       They are held with some sentimental value until the big clear out.
·       They relate best to children and older people.
·       They cherish only the past.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 
1. What type of household manager are you?
2. Can you create another house related category that reflects different attitudes, behaviours or aspects of management?


Day 9 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

    Search all of the Exercises


    View our 24 Categories

    All
    Business
    Career
    Christmas And New Year
    Collaborative Working
    Creativity
    Daily Routine
    Dying
    Education
    Future Planning
    Gratitude
    Happiness
    Harvesting
    Inclusion
    Inner Learning
    Kindness
    Leadership
    Life Journey
    Love
    Peace
    Personal Effectiveness
    Purpose
    Spirituality
    Wellbeing
    Work


    Picture

    Leave your 
    feedback

    Linkedin
    ​Instagram
    ​​Facebook

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Don't miss
    ​a day ...

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020


Personal Development Exercises - 24 CATEGORIES
​Work
Business
Gratitude
Daily Routine
Spirituality
​Kindness
Love
​Leadership
Harvesting
​​Inclusion
Gratitude
Happiness
​Creativity
​Purpose
Inner Learning

Collaborative Working 


Wellbeing
​Education
Future Planning
Career
Personal Effectiveness 
Dying
Life Journey
Christmas / New Year







​
Resources
Contact Us


Picture
Picture

Copyright © ​Des McCabe 2010-2022  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 
  • Books
  • Exercises