How To: Get Better

I've been struggling as many of us entry-levelers do with figuring out what happens outside of 8-5 when your friends have moved away or maybe you're the one that moved away and are now faced with building up your life because you can't keep driving 2 hours to see family or friends every other weekend. 

So, in only the way that I could, I have devised a plan and I invite you to give it a try with me. There are two parts to it: person and social development. For the purposes of this experiment, I will be using the MeetUp and YouTube in conjunction with Spoon University and Pinterest for ideas. Here's how it plays out:

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Part 1: Personal Development Plan: The How-Tube Challenge

Each week I will watch 1-2 videos on YouTube to learn a new skill, how to cook, how to bake, how to craft, how to make friends, etc, and I will implement/test/try/perfect these skills over the next few weeks. Some of these ideas have been generated from Pinterest, cooking/baking has come from Spoon University, and the rest are just weird things I find on YouTube.

Side note: My boyfriend and I tried this 2 weekends ago and at the end we felt like cooking/crafting geniuses and it was a ball of fun, we plan on trying more in the weeks to come. Here are some attempted and proposed ideas for about 2 months of activity:

How to...

• Make a craft: Oil candle with left over cooking oil (tried and almost won, still making adjustments)
• Cook: Bacon-wrapped, cheese-stuff biscuits (tried, need to perfect with some minor tweaks - must try again!)
• Paint: Finally bought a basic starter paint set!
• Meditate
• Start a conversation
• Network
• Budget for a Trip 
• Bake: Narrowing down my options on Pinterest is impossible
• Wrap a gift
• Style Hair
• Build A Shelf: we are preparing to build and paint a crate shelf - I'm so excited and I feel so trendy!
• Organize: Closet, room, car, desk? I can't decide.
• Use Gmail Inbox: Personal Goal - It's so scary looking!
• Host a Party

Any suggestions? Comments are encouraged!

Part 2: Social Development Plan: Meet Up, Make Friends

I've joined Meet Up and added 3-4 different types of groups - social, volunteer, activity, personal development. Each week I'll log on, check the calendar of possible upcoming events and pick one to attend.

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In the end, I want to have a better understanding of who I am, what I like to do and what my strengths are so that I can move away from self-centered to other-centered without losing myself while bringing added value to those around me. Not to mention, being isolated or stuck in one area of life means that God is put in a box of using you in only that area, and while he can still do amazing things, how much more could he do if you're really trying to seek out where God is working, where he needs you most, and how God might use your gifts to bring other to Christ. 

What will you do today to make yourself better to then make others better?