Personal development

Personal development is a lifelong process of realizing one’s capabilities,

unleashing potential, and achieving goals, both personally and
professionally. It involves becoming more self-aware and learning to
assess one’s skills and qualities, consider one’s aims in life, and set goals to
realize and maximize one’s potential 1. Personal development is not
limited to career or self-development but encompasses all aspects of life
where one would like to see personal growth 2.

What is personal development?

Personal development is the process of realising capabilities, unleashing

potential, and achieving goals, personally and professionally. You must be
willing to pursue the journey of personal growth by becoming more self-
aware and learning.

Why is personal development important?

The benefits of personal development are endless. It can help you build
confidence, overcome challenges, and conquer aspirations. The key to
achieving personal success is to know how to set goals and implement a
plan.

How to improve personal development skills?

Finding a way to understand how your behaviours, emotions and

motivations work will put you on the right path towards learning the
necessary personal development skills. Enlisting in one of our courses or
coaching packages listed above is a sure way to begin your personal
development journey.

What’s the difference between self-development and personal

development?
Personal development focuses on adding new skills and ways of achieving
goals in life. Self-development is focussing on improving the things that
are already in your life.

5 areas of personal development

Mental
Exercising your brain and staying mentally fit is critical to personal development, this
comes to life in a few ways: coaching, learning opportunities, and career growth.
Mental development can be anything from workshops, training sessions, or even just
rest. Rest is just as (if not more) important than mental exercise. And as your mental
fitness improves, so does your resiliency, innovation, and self-awareness.
Social
Social connections and relationships are also a must-have for any personal
development. After all, self-improvement is not a solitary pursuit. Humans are social
creatures — we need that connection to learn and grow.

And from social connections, we gain important skills. Like communication skills,
problem-solving, relationship-building, and the ability to receive (and give) feedback.
We also learn from those around us and their experiences.
Spiritual
Personal growth and development — whether you’re religious or not — can come
through in spirituality. It’s important to recognize that religion and spirituality are not
synonymous. In fact, far from it.
Spirituality means you’re investing in a deeper understanding of your own self in the
world around you. It helps you get to know yourself and uncover your values. And in
the context of Inner Work®, the spiritual personal development tool can bring greater
awareness to self and change.
Emotional
Emotional personal development often goes hand-in-hand with emotional
intelligence. At its simplest, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand feelings.
Beyond feelings, it’s understanding how those feelings shape our thoughts and
actions.
Any number of experiences lends itself to emotional personal development. And
those experiences can help you in your pursuit of self-improvement. So far What
experiences have shaped you into who you are today? When you reflect on your
journey, what have you learned?
If you’re looking back at your journey and identifying the growth, it’s likely you’ve
fostered a sense of emotional development along the way. This requires emotional
intelligence to understand what role your feelings and thoughts played.
Physical
A healthy body nourishes a healthy mind. There’s an intrinsic link between your
physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
This aspect of personal development is focused on physical health — like nutrition,
sleep, exercise, and movement. When your physical self is nourished, it’s likely your
mind is also reaping those benefits. Consider ways you can build this area of
personal development and take note of how your body and your mind feel.
The benefits of personal development
 Increased self-awareness and self-esteem. Personal growth requires
looking inward at your own thoughts, feelings, habits, and reactions. It
requires attentiveness — and awareness — to who you are as a person in a
present state. But it also challenges you to look to the future to where you
want to go. By investing in yourself, you’re increasing your self-awareness
and by default, self-esteem.
 Increased mental fitness. Becoming mentally fit requires work. And many
aspects of personal development aid in building strong mental fitness. With
increased mental fitness, you’ll see a ripple effect of positive benefits. We’ve
gathered data around the impact of mental fitness. People with strong mental
fitness are more productive, are less likely to experience mental illness, and
are more creative and innovative.
 Greater resilience. With personal development, you gain greater resilience.
This is another positive symptom of strong mental fitness, too. Investing in
your personal growth means investing in your ability to bounce back after
rough patches.
 More knowledge and learned skills. Oftentimes, personal development
comes with more knowledge and learned skills. This can come to life in
different ways. For example, you may take courses in digital marketing that
help you gain the skills you need to further your career development. Or, you
may sign up for art or pottery classes, which help you gain skills in entirely
different areas of your life.
 Improved personal and professional relationships. Another personal
development benefit is improved personal and professional relationships. This
is an area that flourishes when you invest in your personal growth, especially
in emotional and social aspects.
11 personal development skills to work on
1. Communication and interpersonal skills
2. Problem-solving
3. Cognitive agility and adaptability
4. Self-compassion, self-care, and self-reflection
5. Conflict and conflict resolution
6. Navigating change and uncertainty
7. Future-mindedness
8. Organizational skills
9. Growth mindset
10. Teamwork and collaboration
 11. Self-awareness
6 steps to developing a personal development plan
Like any other goal, it’s important to put together a plan. By assembling your
personal development plan with some structure, you’re more likely to achieve your
goals.
1. Identify areas where you’d like to improve
This first step will likely require some Inner Work. Take a minute to reflect on where
you are right now. What are your strengths? In what areas do you want to focus?
What growth and development do you want to see in yourself?
If you’ve taken the Whole Person Assessment, this can help as a useful tool. Once
you’ve reflected on your personal goals, identify the areas where you’d like to
improve.
2. Work with a coach or mentor to assemble a plan
Even if it's your own personal development plan, you don’t have to do it alone. Lean
on support systems — like life coaches or mentors — to help frame a plan. With the
right structure in place (and feedback along the way), you’ll be better equipped to put
the plan into action.
3. Structure your personal development goals
Stick to a routine — and build consistency. Start to examine your day-to-day and try
to find ways to either build habits or stack new habits onto existing ones.
4. Find an accountability buddy
Sometimes, having someone holding you accountable makes all the difference. If
you and a friend are both setting intentions and goals, consider ways you can
support one another.
Every new hire at BetterUp gets a stack of great books during the onboarding
process. My teammate reached out today to see if we could create an accountability
plan. We’re each holding each other to 100 pages of reading a week.
5. Be honest and aware of your progress
Your personal development plan requires integrity. Be honest with yourself about
your growth and progress. This also requires a level of self-awareness. You can also
gather feedback from friends, family, and colleagues to help gather insight on how
you’re progressing in your goals, too.
6. Factor personal development into your mental fitness plan
How does personal development factor into your mental fitness plan? Consider ways
you can work with your coach on building aspects of personal development into your
overall mental fitness.