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Making the Most of Personal Growth During Lockdown

Whilst the UK is opening up, the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, with scientists scientists warning that we may just be months into a lifelong relationship with the virus. New ways of living are inevitable, with social distancing, remote working, and different forms of lockdown expected to stay with us for some time.

Yet, a slightly more physically distanced future need not all be so bleak. In fact, the turn towards personal development in lockdown has already showed how a change to our routines – and an increase in our space for reflection and personal growth – might give a silver lining to the health crisis.

In this article, I want to look at some of the ways that people have turned their efforts towards personal growth during lockdown. And I’ll give you some ideas for using lockdown time effectively in the future too.

The Growth of Personal Development in Lockdown

Whether it is practising your cooking or making the effort to exercise, lockdown has knocked us out of old habits and into new things. In many ways, it has made us healthier, more attuned to our families and friends, and more focused on achieving the things we want from our dream days.

Back in April, a study of 2,000 Brits revealed that 60% of us intended to dedicate ourselves to personal growth during lockdown. 69% meanwhile said that they wanted to have new skill to show once they were allowed back out.

More recent figures have suggested that we are using lockdown time effectively. Online learning platforms such as Coursera have seen their enrolments increase by eight times since the beginning of lockdown. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum reckons that the boom in online education is here to stay.

In many ways, lockdown has changed our lives for the better – by helping us break our bad habits, for example. A third of us are drinking less than we were. A third of millennials increased their savings by 10% across April. And, as you might have read, only 9% of us actually want to return to “normal”. This suggests that lockdown time has brought with it changes – self-growth, personal development, a commitment to learning – that we really want to keep.

Using Lockdown Time Effectively

However, the changes that we want to see in the world – and in ourselves – inevitably differ from person to person. Whilst everyone in the UK seems to have discovered their desire to bake bread and do the gardening, our larger goals take different forms.

In this way, the crucial element to using lockdown time effectively is to use the opportunity to reflect on what it is that you value. What is your intention? What does your dream day look like? Now that you have time to pause (and I appreciate that doing lockdown with kids might not feel like much of a pause!), what actually are the things that are sacred to you? How has our perception of what is ‘important’ shifted?

Personal development in lockdown is one thing – but you really need to know what it is you want to be developing toward. Personal growth just can’t happen if you don’t know what you are growing into.

In this way, you can use lockdown time effectively by journaling and reflecting on your life. No matter how long it takes to reach a new normal, we can use the time to create the person (and lifestyle) we want to be in the post-virus world.

Why You Should Use a Journal to Reflect on Your Life.

Use Mindfulness to Break Bad Habits.

HOW to find your Intention?