Have you been completely immersed in the business as usual lately that you’ve taken little to no action to invest in yourself? We invest our time and energy into the company we work for, our day jobs, work schedules, day to day tasks, the family actions, the household demands. Yet we forget the greatest asset we should continue investing in – ourselves.
You are your greatest asset.
Yet many of us say we don’t have enough time for self-development or we even fail our own self-development efforts.
Did you know that Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, spends an entire week every year, alone in remote forest home, dedicating all of his time to reading, learning and reflecting? Surely, he thinks of his personal development as important if he prioritises this over running his business like any other week!
Surely you don’t need to do that to succeed! Personal development is not so much about what activity you do. It could be a classroom training, a stretch assignment, on the job learning, reading, etc. It’s about the end result – whatever you do you need to know why. You need to be deliberate and thoughtful about what you want and need to learn or try out in order to be both happy and competitive.
So here they are – 5 powerful reasons why investing in your personal development is important and how in it will benefit you immensely in the short and long term.
Self-fulfilment and empowerment
Emma Watson took a break from her acting career to study gender studies and feminism. She also reads a new book every week as a personal study. She committed to something in line with her values which empowered her and many around the world.
Can you and I afford to take a year out to dedicate to our personal development and growth? Most likely not as we rely on our jobs for income.
But research shows that people spending more than 5 hours a week on learning are 48% more likely to have found purpose – in work or life, to feel empowered, creative, and satisfied with life.
So what do you commit to learning in order to empower yourself?
Competitive advantage, higher salary and advancement prospects
Diya Jolly, Chief Product Officer at Okta, an identity management company, accepted a pay cut and a lower title at three points in her career. And she did this deliberately for a good reason – in order to build the skills for her long-term growth.
Surely, this is not the only way to build the necessary skills for your career growth.
But the pace of workplace change is faster than it’s ever been. So we need to develop the skills today which will fill tomorrow’s skill gaps. In turn improved skills increase our prospects of advancement and achieving a higher status in our jobs, increased income and greater life and career control.
“Build the skills today which will fill tomorrow’s skill gaps.”
Adaptability
At work we often find ourselves in situations we haven’t experienced before. If the new situation resembles or calls upon things you have learned previously, you can adapt the learning from your past experience to the new situation. This is referred to as learning transfer and the skills as transferable skills.
A learning survey by the Learning and Work Institute found that staff who regularly undertake learning activities are better able to adapt to changes in their workplace and as such are regarded as more flexible, motivated and likely to bring continuous improvement to their work.
Confidence
Continuous self development and growth boosts your confidence in 3 ways.
Firstly, confidence is linked to doing. The more time you spend on your personal development, whether in a training or hands-on experience, the more you build your expertise, and as a result, your confidence as an expert.
Secondly, self-development is not just about building knowledge or skills. You also undergo a process of self-discovery. The more time you spend on your personal growth, the more aware you are of your strengths, interests, values.
The more you then use your strengths, the more proof you have to support your successes, which in turn increases our sense of confidence.
This journey of self-discovery makes you aware of your weaknesses too. And contrary to logic, high self-awareness of your weaknesses also boosts your confidence. If you can recognize your development areas, accept them, and study them objectively, you can improve them and experience a lot of personal growth.
Finally, people with high self-awareness of both their strengths and weaknesses are better able to let go of the fear of judgment. It takes a lot of guts and self-awareness to admit that you don’t know something. Instead of fearing people’s judgment, which smashes your confidence, you know you can learn to be better over time. So you focus your energy on taking positive action.
Health benefits
Continuous learning reduces the risk of Dementia and Alzheimer’s, mental health problems, and increases life expectancy.
It also reduces stress. Spending 5 hours a week on learning makes you 47% less likely to be stressed at work compared to those who spend less than 1 hour.
Finally, training often is in a social context so it gives you the opportunity to make new friends, to meet a need for associations and friendships, which in turn positively impacts your mental and physical health.
Conclusion
The first business asset you should invest in is yourself.
Investing in your personal development is the most important thing you will do in your life. It will benefit you immensely in the short and long term – from boosting your confidence, by giving you a competitive advantage and advancement prospects, to improving your health.
Wonder where to start? Personal development is not necessarily about doing an MBA or getting a promotion. Check out these 3 steps to take charge of your personal development to kick start your career growth now.
What do you think?