3 Ways to Stop Playing the Blame Game and Get Better Yourself You and only you can create your own personal growth plan.

One of the most beneficial things that I have ever done from both a personal and professional standpoint was to decide early on and commit to creating my own personal growth plan that would force me to grow every single day.

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The reason for this monumental decision all transpired when I was having coffee one morning with a mentor of mine. I was extremely frustrated with how things were panning out in my life at the time and quickly started to play the blame game and make excuses as to why I was so dissatisfied.

The moment that changed everything for me was when my mentor interrupted me in the middle of one of my negative sentences and said, "Matt, you need to get better. It's not your circumstances or other people around you that need to get better. It's all on you. You must constantly go to work on yourself if you want to begin to experience different outcomes."

At first, I was kind of pissed. Here I was going on and on about this rut that I was in, and his only response was, "You need to get better." However, as a couple minutes went by, and he continued on with the conversation, it all started to make more sense. He shared a quote with me by Jim Rohn that really hit home. The quote was, "Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom." It was that quote by Jim Rohn and that particular conversation with one of my mentors that changed my life forever and started my journey of becoming growth oriented in all that I do.

It's more than likely that all of us want some area of our life to be a little better than what it currently is. When things aren't going as well as we would like, it's so easy to start participating in the blame game and keep a running list of all the excuses as to why things are the way they are.

This type of mentality, the one that I possessed for so long, will do nothing but keep you exactly where you are. If you want to change your situation, circumstances, finances or professional success, look to change yourself before you look anywhere else. Understanding the power and true significance of developing a personal growth plan can be worth more than a gold mine.

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Here are three ways to help get you started in creating your own personal growth plan.

1. Know why you want to grow.

When you know the why behind why you want to grow and go to work on yourself, it becomes that much easier to actually do just that. Maybe you want to increase your income, start your own business or achieve a massive goal of yours -- whatever it is, know exactly why it is you want to grow. Whatever it is you want to do, it's going to require you becoming a completely different person. When you know exactly why you want to grow, you will begin to develop a sense of urgency that helps you to make sure you grow somehow, someway each and every day regardless of what else comes your way.

2. Know when you are going to grow.

After you have discovered why you want to grow, knowing when are you going to grow is all about creating a game plan to ensure you execute. What gets scheduled gets done, and if you want to make sure you are growing and working to get better, you must know exactly when that growth is going to take place. Chances are you are extremely busy, already have a full calendar, have family to attend to when you get home from work and have a ton of other obligations.

This is the main reason as to why most never fall through on creating a personal growth plan for their life. It may initially sound great to them, but they never end up following through. They don't take the proper time that is needed to determine when exactly their growth is going to take place throughout their bust day. Figure out what works best for you, and make sure you schedule it into your calendar just like all of your other very important obligations.

3. Know how you are going to grow.

Once you know why and when you are going to grow, the third key is to know how you are going to grow. To give you a small example, my own personal growth plan consists of reading a new book each week, listening to some type of audio when driving in the car or on the plane, setting up calls with my mentors each month and having a mastermind group that consists of other ambitious and successful individuals. Find a plan that works for you -- and make it a major priority to execute that plan.

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Creating a personal growth plan can radically change your life. Let these three steps guide you in the process of creating your own game plan.