Change is the ability to explore new options and to try new strategies. If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you’ll be sure to get the same result.

Personal leadership isn’t about being your own boss or never having to answer to others. It’s about making the right choices in every area of your life.

Even if you’re never in a job or a role that’s officially described as a “leadership position,” you must know how to make the right choices—how to lead yourself.

You’re leading yourself when you

1. Have a vision for your life
2. Set goals to accomplish your vision
3. Make the right choices about your friendships, the way you spend your free time, and the career you pursue
4. Take care of your health by eating right, getting enough sleep and exercise, and saying no to all the things that damage your health and destroy your relationships

Are you leading yourself in all the above areas? What changes do you need to make, and why do you need to make them? Seek advice from a pastor or someone else you trust: Asking the right persons the right questions is the first step in learning to lead yourself.

Don’t allow the fear of failure to keep you from setting goals. Successful people fail—and change—many times before they achieve an “overnight success.” When people are open to change, even failure happens at the right time.

The world will go on changing whether we like it or not. Whatever you want to call it—success, satisfaction, happiness, fulfillment, or personal development—we can’t have it if we refuse to change.

The next step

Think of a goal you’d like to accomplish if you had a guarantee that you couldn’t fail. Write it down in your journal or day planner, and leave a comment here. Take this step today and you’ll be on the way to learning how to lead yourself.