Personal development

What is Personal Development

Personal development is looking inward and focusing on ways to better yourself. Personal development increases your self-awareness, your self-esteem, increases your skills, and fulfills your aspirations. At MFZ, we’re big believers in the practice of Inner Work. In many ways, personal development is a form of Inner Work. It is the act of looking inward to achieve a purpose or result, especially in the pursuit of clarity, purpose, and passion in life. Personal development is much larger than just career development or self-development. It encompasses all aspects of your life where you’d like to see personal growth — and it doesn’t discriminate on where it shows up for you

5 AREAS OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

When it comes to personal development, it’s hard to not reference Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, your basic needs need to be fulfilled in order to reach your fullest potential. In other words. To reach self-actualization means we’re reaching the highest levels of self-awareness, self-confidence, personal growth, and self-realization. Much like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we see five different areas of personal development. Different personal development goals can fall into different categories.

MENTAL

Exercising your brain and staying mentally fit is critical to personal development. At BetterUp, this comes to life in a few ways: coaching, learning opportunities, and career growth. For example, right now, I’m taking a creative writing course to help keep my mental creative muscles going strong. (And BetterUp foots the bill as part of our learning stipend.) 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. Take your own Inner Work® journey 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

There are plenty of benefits to personal development. Personal growth isn’t easy but the benefits will make the journey worthwhile. 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.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

A personal development plan, which is also known as a PDP, is an action plan that you can use to identify:Your individual goals and what you want to achieve.Your strengths and weaknesses.The areas you need to improve and develop to meet your goals.What you need to do to achieve your goals.Anything that could hinder your progress.

A PDP is a form of self-evaluation and self-reflection that is typically used in higher education and the workplace. However, it can also be a beneficial exercise in your personal life. For example, you may want to learn a new language before travelling overseas, and a PDP can help you achieve this goal.

The benefits of a PDP are:

1. It provides you with clear goals.
2. It helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
3. It improves your employability.
4. It improves your performance.It increases your motivation.
5. It helps track your progress.
6. It improves your sense of purpose.It enhances your mental wellbeing and reduces stress.

Overall, a PDP gives you the best possible chance for success and maximises your potential.

Using a SWOT analysis

You can use a SWOT analysis as a starting point to help you create your PDP. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You can use these four areas as a framework to identify what could help or hinder your personal development. If you don’t analyse your SWOT, it is unlikely you will succeed in achieving your goals.When you are conducting your SWOT analysis, you should look at your current situation and ask yourself various questions relating to these four areas.

Some example questions are:

Strengths

What are you good at?What advantages do you have over others?Do you have any resources available to you that others do not?What do others say about your strengths?Do you have any achievements you are proud of?

Weaknesses

What skills do you struggle with?What areas do you need to improve upon?What holds you back?Do you have any bad habits?Do you avoid certain tasks due to a lack of confidence?What do others say about your weaknesses?

Opportunities

Is the industry you are in/looking at in a promising position?Is there an undeveloped niche in certain markets that you can tap into?Do you have contacts in your network who could assist you?Can you take advantage of the mistakes others are making?Is there an opening for a position not advertised externally yet?Is there a project you can assist with that will help you develop different skills?

Threats

What could derail your success? E.g. competition, finances, changes in technology and any other obstacles.Is there a risk of your weaknesses becoming threats?Are there any external changes beyond your control that could be a threat?It is important to be as honest as possible when answering these questions, particularly when looking at your strengths and weaknesses.

How to carry out a SWOT analysis

Strengths I have very good attention to detail, which allows me to identify things that others miss.Weaknesses I find it difficult to speak in public, particularly larger audiences, and I will try and avoid it when I can.Opportunities There is a networking event next month, which will allow me to gain some new contacts. It will also help me with my communication skills.Threats As my role requires training, my lack of confidence in public speaking could hinder my progress and even threaten my position.The above is just an example, and you are likely to have far more detail in your own SWOT analysis.

A SWOT analysis aims to:

1. Promote your strengths.
2. Reduce your weaknesses
3. Exploit the opportunities available to you
4. .Minimise threats to your success

Someone Writing Out and Planning Their Personal Development PlanHow do I write a personal development plan?All PDPs are different. How you write yours will depend on whether you are completing one for personal, education or work reasons.

A PDP is also specific to you and based on your individual goals. Therefore, your PDP and what you include will be different from anyone else’s.In education and work, PDPs are likely to be in a specified format. Employers may also have their own procedures and processes for conducting PDPs as part of an annual appraisal (PDR). In these instances, you should follow your employer’s procedures when completing your PDP.

Regardless of the reason why you are completing a PDP, here are some general steps you can follow to help you write yours:

Step 1 – Complete a SWOT analysisYou should complete a SWOT analysis as the first step of your PDP and as a self-assessment.That way, you can:Identify what could help or hinder you in achieving your goals.Evaluate your existing skills, knowledge and interests.Identify if you have any transferable skills that could help you achieve your goals.Use the results when setting your goals.You can use our free SWOT analysis template to help you. Please hyperlink here if you want to use the template and/or delete this sentence.

Step 2 – Set your goalsThink about the things you really want to achieve in your education, career or personal life. To meet your overall aims, you should set goals so that you can fulfil your objectives.Make a list of your goals and ensure they are SMART, which means they should be:

Specific

– Your goals should be specific and precise rather than generic.

– You should state exactly what you want to achieve or change.

– An example of a generic and weak goal would be

– I want to be a better public speaker.

– An example of a SMART goal would be

– I will attend a training course on presenting to help me improve my public speaking skills, as I lack confidence in this area, and it’s holding me back.

Measurable

– Having a quantifiable goal will make it easier to track and achieve.

– For example, I will compare three different courses for content and price. I will enrol on my chosen course within one month.

Achievable

– Your goals must be realistic and attainable.

– Ask yourself whether you can achieve them in a certain timeframe.

– For example, I have got the funds available to pay for the course. I also currently work part time, so I have enough time to study.

Relevant

– Your goals should relate to your overall aims and longer-term ambitions.

– For example, a lack of confidence in public speaking is one of my weaknesses, and I feel it is holding me back in my career and personal life.

Time-bound

– Set realistic timescales to achieve your outcomes.

– Ask yourself when you want to achieve your goals by.

– Split your goals into short term, medium term and long term.

– For example, I will complete my course within the next three months. I will also evaluate whether it has improved my public speaking skills.Having SMART goals makes it easier for you to achieve them and updating your PDP when you have completed them.

Step 3

– Create your action planOnce you have your clear SMART goals, you should break them down into action points, which will make them more manageable. You can put these points into an action plan with your priority goals at the top.

There is no requirement for your PDP action plan to be in any particular format. It can be handwritten or typed and tabulated or free-flowing text. Whatever format you choose, you should ensure that it is easy for you to produce, follow and update.

Step 4

– Detail the strategies and resources for achieving your goalsYou now have your list of goals in your action plan, but how will you go about achieving them? Now you should write down your strategies and resources you need to achieve your goals.It can include:Further training, e.g. enrolling on a course.Research, e.g. websites, journals and books.Hands-on experience, e.g. volunteering.Taking on new projects or responsibilities.Professional advice, e.g. from a mentor.Guidance and shadowing during supervision.Speaking to people in different roles.Time needed for the strategy to be effective.

Step 5

– Assessing your progressFinally, you should note in your PDP how you will monitor and assess the progress of your goals. For example, you may be continually assessed throughout a course, and you would use the assessment results as milestones for achieving your goals.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The process of building your plan can take considerable time. This is completely normal and you shouldn’t rush things. However, it’s a good idea to set a deadline in your mind. After all, tasks are a kind of fluid – they take as much space as you give them.

Step 1:

Clear out your visionYou have to start with the end in mind. To build your personal development plan, look at what’s on the other side. Think about your future life. Choose a timeframe that makes sense for you – if you are still in your 20s, a look at 3 or 5 years from now is enough. The older you get, the longer the planning period you can have.

Now, imagine your life in, say, 3 years and go through your imaginary day:

1. What’s the first thought that passes your mind in the morning?
2. What’s the reason you get out of bed?
3. How’s your day structured?What’s your workplace?
4. What do you do there?How much time do you spend with friends and family?
5. What makes you feel accomplished at the end of the day?
6. What gives you energy moving forward and what drains your energy?

Now take one step back and review. What are the areas that will make you feel successful? This will help you determine your values. Map them out – you can use anything, from a note-taking app to a blank sheet of paper, from a simple bullet list to a fancy visual board.

The best way this works for me is by using a mind map with several main nodes for each of the areas in your life.Some people prefer to keep that simple, with 2-3 nodes for professional, personal and social fields. Others go in more details.

10 Life domains:

1. Intellectual
2. Emotional
3. Physical
4. Spiritual
5. Marital
6. Parental
7. Social
8. Financial
9. Vocational (career-related and professional)
10. Avocational (hobbies and interests)

I believe the map works best with 5-6 categories and you can put there everything you want to – if you feel like travel is a key field for your development, best to have it there.After you have the key areas as main nodes, complete your mind map by including several sub-nodes that will make the field a success.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The end result will give you a broad sense of what areas you should focus on.

Step 2:

Outline your strengths and areas for improvementYou’ve put down a pin on where you want to go – now let’s see what are the means of going forward.

First, think about what you already have going for you – what are the strengths and skills that are already relevant to your dream? Maybe you want to move into a new work field – then your natural networking skills will help you get to know the industry more quicker.

Then, make a list of skills you need to develop and projects you can start working on to move you closer to your goals. Think about the people you can contact and who can help you along the way. At this point you don’t have to be too specific – think of it as a kind of brainstorming. MFZ has a handy template on this, as well.After you’ve created a long list, look at the different points and group them to form clusters.

You can use a format that’s well known by most business students – the SWOT chart. Although we’re used to thinking about it as a tool to assess organizations, it’s just as handy for assessing your personality.

You just have to draw a four-quadrant map and use each part for your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. If this sounds too abstract, check out the questions for building a personal SWOT chart here.

PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS

Step 3:

Build your personal development planAfter you have a clear direction, let’s go into detail. The key here is to get down to specific actions for the future.You start by setting up specific projects.

What do you need to get them done?What resources will you need? Books to read, courses to take, tools to subscribe to…What people will help you do it? Friends, mentors and so on.

What will success look like? Set specific criteria for measuring that.What is the timeframe? Either put in a general deadline or milestones for different parts of the project.You’ll end up with a clear idea of what needs to get done and how to do it. Now get doing! You can even tie your personal development plan to your annual goal.

Step 4:

Review and adaptPresident Eisenhower once said: “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” The importance of a personal development plan is in getting the clarity that comes with answering questions about your future. But it is not set in stone. After all, life changes fast and we need to change with it. That’s why it’s important to review and adapt.

Reviews can go on a quarterly basis. Make sure you keep your eye on the prize and remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Reread your vision, check out your values mind map. But after that focus just on what needs to be done over the next quarter – otherwise, you might feel overwhelmed by the full picture and never get around to doing anything.

If some project no longer makes sense, don’t hesitate to remove it from your personal development plan. Don’t hesitate to adapt the plan according to new interests or a change in circumstances. A good personal development strategy grows as you do. As Tony Robbins put it, “Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”

To share or not to share?You don’t have to advertise your new journey to everyone, so don’t rent that billboard in front of work just yet. However, it’s good to validate your personal development plan with several key people. These can be co-workers, family members, close friends. In a best case scenario, they will be diverse enough to cover all of your plan’s areas.

A CONCLUSION

Taking a look around and making sure you know what you’re going after is very important and it can be quite refreshing. When I built my personal development plan, I felt energized and ready to conquer every challenge. I was sure I knew what I was doing and that gave me confidence in pursuing my vision.But if you’d like some more inspiration regarding just where an amazing plan can take you, check out our successful resumes page. There, you can see how more than a dozen real people found their own success. Good luck!