3 WAYS TO TAKE YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY PERSONAL

A lot of times we fail to understand what personal development really is and just copy what other people we like are doing. Whereas you are unique and your combination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are different compared to other people.

Have you ever wondered how siblings who grew up in the same environment, with the same parents and near-equal opportunities have different personalities? This is because aside from their environment, their biology is also a major determinant of how they will perceive things and interpret situations.

This is what developmental psychologists and human development professionals will call nature vs nurture. You cannot overlook the effect of your nature (genetics) and the environment you grew up in which includes the people you’ve interacted with up till now, the words you’ve heard, the places you’ve been to, the ideologies that have formed your mindset, and every other external influences that have contributed to making you.

This is why you are unique and why you should take your personal development journey personal because it is personal. No one can understand how you feel even if they say so, they might have a clue but not feel the same way. So how can you take your personal development journey personal?

1. Take a personality test to understand your personality: different personality tests exist on the internet such as the Myers and Briggs 16 personality types, DISC and Big Five. A personality test helps you understand why you do things the way you do them also gives you a glimpse into how you relate with people and jobs/careers that fit you. Your personality is truly not a permanent stamp on you. With a test, you know more about your strengths to make plans on getting better.

Don’t focus on your weaknesses too much because the more you work on your strengths, the smaller your weaknesses look. For example, if you are a shy person and one of your strengths is offering hope and encouragement to people. When you start working on reaching out to people, your shyness will diminish with time.

2. Draw out a personal plan for yourself: the personal development journey is indeed a lifetime journey and your life is also time-based. So it is always advisable to draw out a career, financial and any other personal plan for yourself while still keeping an open mind. How do you make this plan?

Write a list of things you need to know as a professional in what you do by doing a thorough research and looking out for interview sessions of people you admire when they share their stories. This plan will serve as a guide and help you stay on track.

For example, if you are studying to be an accountant. As an accountant, you need to have certain professional knowledge and certifications. Draw out a plan on how you want to achieve them. Maybe you will take one or two certifications yearly, then read books in and outside your field monthly or quarterly. You also need to attend events and network with people, which means your plan should include the number of events you’ll attend, where you’ll find them (eventbrite is a good source) and how often you’ll attend these events.

Your plan can be for 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a decade. What is most important is that you draw out an evaluation plan in the course of that duration. For a 1 year plan, you can review it quarterly or monthly to know how much you’ve achieved, note the challenges and how you overcame and other important details that will help you in the future.

3. Celebrate yourself as you progress: let’s say you are working on your interpersonal skills and you successful had a conversation with someone for the first time, it’s ok to celebrate that. Celebrate your small wins because it is the little things that make up the big things.

Ensure that as much as you have role models, don’t compare yourself with anyone or beat yourself down because someone achieved something earlier than you did. You are a unique person and what matters in growth and development is a change in comparison to who you were yesterday.

Cheers to a bigger you!

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