Still continuing our discussion on personal development, let us look at simple things that can be done to upgrade personal development skills.
Follow these guidelines to help in developing yourself personally:
Get started. Get started, just get started. It’s time to stop pushing things back and placing them in the later file. Now is the time to open the file to your future and write down the things you want to do to develop yourself. Everyday you delay is a day you waste and deny yourself the opportunity to grow and progress.
Get Feedback. Get feedback from your nearest and dearest. Get feedback from your bosses, colleagues and business associates. Get them to give you feedback on how they generally find your approach on projects etc. If you find that you are getting consistent feedback, whether it is positive or developmental, you can quickly see what needs working on and what you are very strong on, use this information to your advantage.
Read. Reading keeps you informed. They say that we are in the information age, there is a wealth of information that is out there these days, you can always find something out there to read and expand your knowledge and vocabulary on. Reading can also stimulate your mind and can improve your analytical skills. Make an effort to read something new today.
Take a class. Take a class and learn something new. Maybe this is the time to learn a new skill. Don’t just take any class, remember you need to understand the why in what you are doing and how it will eventually be of benefit to you.
Network. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, interacting with different people, can help you broaden your horizons, it can help you to communicate and work with different types of people. This can also help you to develop relationships that might help you in the future, you never know.
Attend events. Find out about the different events that interest you and try to join them, whether virtually or otherwise. Any opportunity you can get to understand more about your chosen area can never be a bad thing.
Keep things in a diary or journal. Writing things down daily or weekly can be a good way of tracking your journey. This can also help you gain awareness or reflect on things you have been doing to aid or derail your journey. It is a good practice to adopt if you are not doing it already. This could also turn out to be a good source of data to advise people on the do’s and don’ts in a particular area.
Get a mentor. If you find someone in your organisation who is working in a role that you want to work in, in future, why not schedule sessions and learn more from them. A mentor does not have to come from the office, they can be a professor, someone you admire or a professional from another field.
Next week we look at personality traits needed in personal development.
@ladysamgh
