4 REASONS WHY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE A PRIORITY

As life progresses, you are guaranteed to face a variety of circumstances, changing environments, and new roles that require you to adapt to them. A personal development plan will help you to handle the pressures that come with the continuous changes and challenges, so that you are well-equipped to excel in all the areas in your life.

Personal development is an ongoing process of self-improvement either in your career, in your education, in your personal life, or in all of these areas. It is about setting goals for yourself and putting plans in place to reach those goals.

HERE ARE 4 REASONS WHY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE A PRIORITY:

1 – IT FORCES YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

If there are areas of your job that you do not like, or are not good at, those are the weaknesses that a personal development plan can help you improve on. Confronting these areas and improving on them can help to push you out of your comfort zone. This allows you to experience growth and to improve your skills. 

2 – IT DEVELOPS YOUR STRENGTHS

A personal development plan not only helps you to improve on your weaknesses, but it can also help you to develop your strengths. By taking time to focus on nurturing and using your strengths more, you go from being good at something to being excellent at it. You can reach your potential and achieve great growth by developing the skills you are already good at.

3 – IT BOOSTS YOUR CONFIDENCE

Making the decision to improve on your skills takes you a step closer to feeling more confident. Once you have achieved a certain goal, gained another skill, or developed a certain area of your life, you naturally feel good about yourself. The more you keep on developing in the areas of your life you are not confident in, the more you can boost your confidence.

4 – IT IMPROVES YOUR SELF-AWARENESS

Personal development is closely linked to self-awareness. It gives you the opportunity to take an honest look at the areas of your life that need improvement. Through this process, you get to know who you really are, what your true values are, and where you would like to go in life. Once you go through this process, you will improve your self-awareness and experience fulfilment. 

WHEN EMBARKING ON THE JOURNEY OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, KEEP IN MIND THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

·         Establish the goals you want to reach in all areas of your life

·         Look for the weaknesses that need improvement in order for you to reach these goals

·         Identify the different opportunities to develop the weaknesses

·         Set up your plan of action for improving the weaknesses

·         Make time for nurturing your strengths

·         Record the outcomes of your development

·         Evaluate your outcomes against your goals

The journey of self-improvement is an ongoing process of constant learning. It gives you the opportunity to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and to work on them. Remember, personal development can help you in all the areas of your life and is therefore largely a personal journey, but one that needs to be prioritised. The benefits are that you grow as a person while growing your skills, you improve your self-awareness, and you boost your confidence.

Source:oxbridgeacademy.edu.za

Writer: Lungiswa Nyatyowa