What do you do if you want to enhance your personal development skills?

1.Set clear goals. 2.Seek learning opportunities. 3.Read regularly. 4.Practice self-reflection. 5.Prioritise areas for improvement. 6.Seek feedback. 7.Take action. 8.Stay persistent. 9.Network and collaborate. 10.Celebrate progress.

There are two aspects to this. The first is targeted skill development, which helps you in your career. The second one is more open, wherein I keep an open mind and learn something to satisfy my curiosity. So, depending on your career stage, one can prioritise compliance or curiosity or both. If I am an established academic, I can afford to prioritise my curiosity, which I do at this stage in my career. I learn things that have nothing to do with my career but help in my overall well-being and make me feel more fulfilled. I try to learn what I need to or want to learn on my own at the pace I want.

Below are some thumb rules that I follow.. 1. Identify the areas where we need personal development. 2. Prioritize 2-3 themes for one year period 3. Dedicate 1-2 hours everyday, reading, listening, watching themes related contents and making notes. 4. Slowly, practice the learnings. Change won't happen immediately, but consistency and persuation will lead to change. That's how I learnt languages, team development, finance, etc.

In my experience, the first step towards personal development began with acknowledging that I needed to improve. This was followed by a frank appraisal of my areas for improvement and my strengths. I was then in a position of clarity to consider my action steps towards my personal and professional goals. The next step was to investigate and research the courses to help me achieve these goals, then consciously widen my social network to gain valuable insight and guidance to help me progress.

People talk about knowing strengths and weaknesses a lot. However, it is easier said than done. Instead, I would suggest 5 specific questions to start writing and discovering yourself. 1. What is currently worrying or frightening me? 2. What gives me a sense of joy and satisfaction? 3. What three words describe me best? 4. What do I want to do less of and why? 5. What do I want to do more of and why? These help you look at yourself with real evidence, thus, you have more clues to know yourself better. Try it. And give me your thoughts.

Remember that a good plan starts with a good goal. If your goal is not specific or measurable, your plan will be - vague. Here's how to write or set goals that ACTUALLY work: First of all, you need to quantify what success looks like for each goal. - Make them specific and measurable. - State them positively. - Ensure they are a realistic stretch. - Assign accountability. - Be time-bound; include dates or period durations to put you on your toes. In writing your goal, make sure to start with a verb. Here are some examples: "Lose 15 pounds in 12 weeks." "Make $500,000 in new business in 6 months." "Follow up with 3 prospects weekly to close deals." "Identify potential clients and build a connection online twice a week." You get the drill.

Setting smart goals is good and all. But many miss the other half of making sure you end up where you want: - Systems "We don't rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems." - James Clear So, set a goal that you deeply care about (the easy part), and then devise a plan for reaching it. Make it foolproof. "If i made this [insert action] then reaching my goal would become inevitable!" That's the feeling you want to have when you are done goal-setting.

After identifying what you wish to work on, it is time to set goals! While you might have a large goal, it is good to break it up into smaller, achievable goals. This way, you set yourself up for success and stay motivated along the way!

Learning is earning. But that is not the whole picture. Without applying, educating is just entertaining. The National Training Laboratories Institute suggests a model called the "Learning Pyramid." The levels of learning move from passive to active in the order below: 1. Lecture 2. Reading 3. Audiovisual 4. Demonstration 5. Group discussion 6. Practiced by doing 7. Teaching others I personally push myself to do No.6 and No.7 a lot, because that's where real learning happens. In fact, I try doing the thing before even learning to boost my ability to absorb knowledge after trials and errors. My own process: TRY. LEARN. DO. TEACH.

I generally follow and explore a new personal development type training every month. Last month it was Regan Hillyer and currently it's Paul McKenna. Video and podcasts are my preferred learning, but I love reading as well. (I like video and podcasts as I get to do these while I do my daily zone 2 cardio training on the treadmill.) Next month I have it mapped out to learn from Vaness Van Edwards (Science of People).

Learning the theory is one thing, putting it into practice is a whole other one! Discover what way of learning and implementing the theory works for you, and experiment. Try different things, adopt a learning mindset and open yourself to different methods. For me, I like to stay informed on different webinars, newsletters, I journal and I surround myself with people that adopt a similar mindset.

It is not okay to just learn all the tactics and best practices. Do not get stuck in the euphoria of learning, because it gets exciting. At certain points, take a break from consuming all you are learning and begin to implement it. See what works for you; where do you need to make adjustments? Make regular checks to review your progress as and when. This is where the actual improvement or development begins, and don't be too hard on yourself. Personal development takes time, it's a journey, a process; embrace it and enjoy it as you go!

For some people, an excel file with their goals and progress works best. You can also use tools like Trello or TeamGannt. For me personally, it works best to write down my goals, and cross them off my list. Through journalling, I keep track of my progress. When working with a coach, we identify moments of celebration, and reflect on the progress in the past weeks.

The best way to track your growing progress is to write. I have folders in my Notes called "Daily Thoughts" and "Weekly Journal." I have been writing to understand myself for years. Writing helps me gather my thoughts. When I can see all of my thinking clearly on the page, I can re-read it, and think forward. If you only keep the thinking inside your head, chances are, you will think around. It is because you have forgotten what you have thought before that. So it goes round and round. In many cases, you cannot find your way out. What do you think? What do you write?

I first identified the areas I wanted to improve. I set specific, measurable goals for each area. I sought out resources like books, online courses, and workshops that focused on these skills. I actively applied what I learned in my daily life, whether it was practicing mindfulness to improve emotional intelligence or using new communication strategies in conversations. I also sought feedback from peers and mentors to gauge my progress and adjust my approach as necessary. To stay motivated, I celebrated small achievements along the way. Additionally, I kept a journal to reflect on my experiences, challenges, and growth. This approach helped me track my progress and maintain focus on my personal development journey.

Enjoy the journey! While it is great to have big goals, the journey is just as important as the destination. What you learn along the way is extremely valuable, and doing it with someone else or accountability buddies can be a great way to get where you want to go faster. Personal development never ends, so be excited for the ride!