7 ways you can enhance your personal development skills
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We all want to better ourselves and reach our goals, and there is no better way to do so than to improve one’s personal development skills.
Personal development is a continuous act of assessing and reassessing your goals, values and actions and then building the needed skills and qualities for them.
This process, although sounding daunting and tedious to the timidest of people, can greatly contribute to one’s personal and work life as it allows them to sift through the ‘noise’ that prevents them from achieving what they are capable of.
Here are some of the most important personal development skills one should learn in order to become more capable and confident.
1. Face your fears and overcome them
Fear is the dream-killer, as it can prevent you from growing and progressing towards your goals. Being taken over by fear will not only keep you from improving, but it will also pull you down the longer you keep being afraid.
Take a step out of your comfort zone. If you are afraid of public speaking, take a speech class or join a debate group. If you’re too scared to take risks, find a mentor who can guide you to make good decisions.
As scary as it sounds, you are more likely able to learn and be confident within yourself if you are placed in a situation that will allow you to confront and overcome your fears.
2. Expand your reading material
Reading is one of the best ways one can expand their knowledge and vocabulary. It also helps in keeping one informed of things. By reading more books, one can learn more about the world around them and their relation to it.
It can also help stimulate your mind by providing new situations that can improve your critical thinking skills. To do this, try to read at least one educational or motivational article a day or one book a month.
3. Learn a new skill or ability
Learning a new skill or ability can be very beneficial for you, as it can add more to what you are already capable of by expanding your skillset. This can make you more well-rounded, as well as provide you with the means to deal with new challenges.
You can either take courses related to your work such as programming or creative writing to give you the added boost in your job. Aside from this, you can also take lessons on topics not related to your job, such as first-aid or entrepreneurship. While these skills may not bring much to the table in terms of your profession, they can still help in situations outside of your job.
4. Ask others for feedback on your work
Feedback is the breakfast of great leaders and high performing teams. Having outside and unbiased perspective on your work can help you figure out the areas where you can do better on.
Receiving feedback allows one to reflect on their actions and improve upon them, thereby preventing you from making the same mistakes. One can approach a family member, friend, colleague or manager to ask for feedback on a recent project or accomplishment and use their comments and criticisms to find ways to improve.
5. Observe and learn from others
If you have a mentor or a co-worker whose actions and goals inspires you to do better, then you are also able to improve yourself by learning from them. Identify the qualities you admire in them, and try to replicate those in yourself.
You can also do this by talking to a mentor. They could either be your manager, professor, someone you admire or a professional personal growth mentor. Having someone who you can look up to and learn from can aid you in identifying ways to build your self-development skills.
6. Expand your network
Humans are social creatures. Since our communities impact us across our lives, these social networks are considered essential to one’s professional advancement.
Interacting with many types of people in the workplace can allow you to learn new ideas. It gives you the chance to understand how to communicate and work with different personality types.
Expanding one’s network through industry organizations and shared interest groups can also help you meet and develop relationships that can be beneficial to you in the future.
7. Keep a journal and meditate
Self-awareness is an important personal development skill, and the best way to develop it is through journaling and meditation.
Writing in a journal can help you reflect on recent events, decisions and conversations. You can then use this to assess your progress with your goals, and make the necessary changes based on your reflections.
Meanwhile, meditation can help you focus on your self-development in a healthy, positive and calm way. Not only can it give you clarity and awareness, but it can also reduce your stress and anxiety. Scheduling a break to write in your journal or to meditate can help you relax and focus.
Ways you can enhance your personal development skills
Personal development skills are qualities and abilities that can help you in growing personally and professionally so that you can maximize your potential.
It is best for you to choose which skills you want to develop through a thorough self-analysis. Make sure that these skills are necessary for advancing in your career or industry while expanding your abilities to become a well-rounded individual.
Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.
