Personal development: what is it and how to create a plan in 2024?
Personal development is a gradual but continuous process of self-investment. It means enhancing skills and abilities to achieve a goal.
In a country where the unemployment rate ended the first quarter of 2023 at 8.8%, who doesn't want to grow and have a better quality of life? To do this, it is necessary to train yourself and learn to deal with different situations.
In this content we will show you what personal development is, its importance and tips for achieving it. You will see that with just three steps you can create a plan to achieve your goals.
What is personal development?
In the world of work, personal development is practiced by professionals who wish to increase their individual capabilities and achieve goals to have a better quality of life.
Developing yourself covers different areas of knowledge, in addition to challenging capabilities and intelligence in search of improvement. By investing in their own performance, professionals become protagonists of their own journey towards personal fulfillment.
Why invest in personal development?
Personal development is essential both for those looking for a job in the market and for those who are already employed but want to move up a level. It is a strategy capable of bringing benefits, providing professional, emotional and financial fulfillment.
People who dedicate time and effort to develop themselves, whether employed or not, are able to increase their self-esteem and achieve a better quality of life. Another aspect is strengthening social skills. After all, during improvement we can establish new interesting professional bonds for the future.
17 tips for achieving personal development
Aware of the importance of investing in personal development to achieve goals, the question remains: how can we improve skills and competencies? We have listed 17 practical tips for this purpose, follow along.
1. Gain self-knowledge
Working on self-knowledge is an essential step for anyone seeking development. In this first moment we must think about where we are today, where we want to go and what we need to do to be there.
In the speed of everyday life, we don't always stop to reflect on strengths and needs for improvement. However, doing this self-assessment is the first step towards achieving self-knowledge.
2. Don't be afraid to experiment
Knowing yourself is a continuous process, as we change day by day and we are always learning from mistakes and successes. Therefore, a basic tip in the personal development process is not to avoid opportunities to experiment.
3. Set goals
Golden tip: without a flight plan you won't reach your destination. In this sense, to achieve dreams in your personal or professional life you need to make decisions. If there is a purpose, a clear objective, it becomes easier to get it right.
To speed up this process, set clear and realistic goals with your aspirations. Put everything on a list and put together this “action plan”.
4. Don't procrastinate
Underestimating the time needed to complete a task leads us to leave everything for later. However, this custom does not help those who have goals to achieve. Therefore, instead of giving in to procrastination, try to motivate yourself to face what needs to be done.
Investing time in a project, even if it's a little each day, is better than doing nothing. Also take care of your well-being by taking care of your sleep and diet, as well as including physical exercise in your routine.
5. One task at a time
Several studies show that dividing a project into smaller tasks allows for management and completion. Likewise, carrying out one activity at a time ensures that each one is performed with greater quality.
The same goes for personal development processes. Doing everything simultaneously makes the goal more distant. Focus on what matters!
6. Invest in yourself
Seeking personal and career growth requires the contribution of a resource. However, this tip is related to the investment of another valuable asset: time. Therefore, it is worth organizing a weekly schedule.
Set aside periods for routine activities and actions aimed at your own well-being. Exercise social and emotional skills, develop emotional intelligence, effective communication and empathy.
7. Develop skills
Remember the first step, about self-knowledge? This is where it comes in, as self-assessment allowed you to discover your strengths. Those intrinsic or acquired skills that make you a capable and efficient professional.
It is also beneficial to discover new talents that could be useful in your career. Invest in public speaking, presentation techniques, software skills, leadership and others. The more skills, the easier it is to face obstacles.
8. Learn new languages
Being fluent in another language is one of the most sought after qualities on the market. In addition, of course, to bringing benefits to intimate development. Learning a language makes it possible to come into contact with other people and cultures, form partnerships and stand out in selection processes.
9. Take courses
Courses and training are also important for those entering the job market or who already have a job and want to develop. And there are no excuses for stopping learning, after all, technology makes it possible to take an online course. In fact, there are hundreds of websites and platforms dedicated to learning, many of them are free.
10. Network
Expanding your network of contacts is a great strategy for qualifying yourself personally and professionally. Relationships with other people can accelerate self-development. Chat, exchange experiences, receive tips or participate in internet forums. These are opportunities to learn and do your personal marketing .
11. Reframe experiences
The expression “Learn from mistakes” indicates that it is possible to benefit from something that did not go as it should. It's a way of evolving, learning to do things differently, without repeating old habits or methods. So, every time you make a mistake, try to give new meaning to that experience and find the good side.
12. Work on your weaknesses
As you learn from your mistakes, take the opportunity to reflect on your weaknesses and try to improve them. It's a habit to follow on a daily basis, aware that no one is good at everything all the time. Write down on paper what your profile's deficiencies are and work on improving yourself.
13. Face failure
Recognizing failures, learning from mistakes and taking responsibility for one's actions are part of personal development. Therefore, facing failure is an experience that we will have at a certain point in the process.
Even though it is difficult to deal with frustration, we have to admit that we were not good enough in a certain subject and learn from it.
14. Have references
Having a great idol or admiring a professional in your field can serve as a reference for achieving goals. In addition to all the steps we must follow to achieve our personal development, cultivating admiration is a healthy habit to shorten the path.
15. Meet experts
Make a list of professionals who stand out in your area or in the segment you want to work in. These people can become examples of how to lead your career and even teach valuable lessons for life.
Even though we know that each person is unique and the opportunities are different, we can still learn the tactics and strategies for success. Read books by experts, follow them on social media or subscribe to newsletters. It is worth it!
16. Consume content
Take advantage of the same list of experts from the previous tip to consume the content produced by these people. Additionally, whenever possible, attend lectures and participate in workshops. It's a great opportunity to learn and acquire new knowledge.
Discover tools, apps and online resources that can support the personal development process. How about investing in meditation techniques, task management mechanisms and mentoring programs .
17. Read books
Last suggestion for personal development, but not least: bet on books! Reading is a great ally of knowledge and a source of new concepts. Maintaining good reading practices is a way to make the most of your time while moving towards your goals.