To be successful in life, we need to continually grow - to increase our knowledge, skills and abilities (SKA's) and to go beyond the capacities we think are possible. Never is this more crucial than in our career, where employers are expecting more of the SKA's as well as the ability to adapt to the needs of the organization and to do it with gusto. It is fairly easy to challenge one's self in increasing this knowledge base, by going back to school, reading or taking on new tasks.
But balancing the needs of the organization with that of your own and then being able to handle the pressure of these new responsibilities, as well as dealing with the different personalities, creates quite a challenge in succeeding in one's career. The solution? Work on your personal development. This is the key to enabling you to find this balance and develop the ability to handle whatever comes your way.
Personal Development entails several areas, that are grouped around one of these:
- emotional
- psychological
- physiological
To deal with increasing tasks and workloads that are being required by employers, one of these developmental areas will be affected; thoughts affect feelings which affect behavior. Feeling overworked, undervalued or underpaid can lead to feelings of anger or resentment that can be felt through physical symptoms, like headaches, backaches, dread, crying spells, or sleeplessness. They are all tied together; one affects the other.
So when you work on your personal development, you are learning about your style of dealing with life's events and why you may or may not respond positively/negatively to them; you know and work off of your strengths, and you understand your fears, motivations, work and learning styles - in essence, you know and understand YOU. And you also are continually working to stay in self-awareness and to work off of your strengths.
Here are 5 ways to enhance your personal development:
- Self-Assessment - it is pertinent to write down your learning style, work style, personality traits, how you handle conflict, communication style, your motivation, fears, or any other attribute for how you deal with life
- Have a Plan - write down areas in your life that you feel you can improve upon; set a goal, with a deadline, where you will work on improving that area, as well as how you will go about making that improvement
- Read or take classes - there are literally thousands of books, classes, teleseminars, webinars, that you can find, either online or in-person; some are free or low-cost. You may have to schedule this in your plan. Commit to reading at least fifteen minutes a day to get you started. Find a class at your local community college, nonprofit or the like.
- Go Where They Go - people committed to their personal development socialize with others who feel the same. It may be through taking a class; attending a support group; going to a networking or Meetup group; or joining a professional association. Being around others who have the same interests helps to gain the motivation to keep developing and also serves to see the possibilities your career can go.
- Get a mentor/coach - we all need a support system or an accountability partner who will help us to get us from where we are to where we want to go so hiring a coach or a mentor will get you clear on that direction and keep you on course, as well as giving you feedback on how you are growing
If you are ready to take your career or organization to the next level, we are here to get you there. Visit http://www.cyscoaching.com to access our free report on "The Four Steps to Effective Career Management", as well as other resources. Follow our blog, Your Career Success, which has been named as one of the Top 100 Life Coaching Blogs to Follow in 2013. http://www.allaboutcareerssite.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Seifert_Ph.D._CPC
