By Dr. Olaniyi Opanuga, PhD, MBA, FNIPM, FCIAM, COPOM©

Priotization of personal development and self-improvement is critical to personal growth and success in life. Personal development involves continuous building and improvement of oneself in different aspects of life. These aspects can be categorized as follows:

• Physical
• Mental and cognitive
• Social
• Emotional and psychological
• Spiritual
• Professional

The combination of the aspects of development listed above makes a total person. When you are well rounded by developing and improving yourself on a continuous basis you will be able to live a balanced and successful life, leading to self-actualization.

Getting to the peak in key areas of life involves the realization of your full potential.

Discover yourself, understand what you want in life, have a plan, set your goals, step out of your comfort zone, push your limit and develop appropriate skills, behaviours, attitudes, connections and channels to reach your goals.

 

Begin with possibility thinking and a mindset for success. You can be a better version of yourself, become a better person and enjoy better quality of life. Start from self-awareness and make informed decisions to reach your goals. Professional self-development is the foundation of career success.

Thinking and planning ahead is at the root of a self- actualization. It is better to prepare for tomorrow in view of what is happening today and our desire for a better future.

Equipping yourself properly so that you can adapt to political, social, economic, technological, cultural and industry changes in critical to your career progression and personal progress.

The successful CEOs and top executives you see today didn’t get to their positions by chance. Personal or self-development is about taking steps to acquire required knowledge, skills and experience including acquiring certifications so that you can become a better person in the future. At a point in the career you may need to acquire new skills on your present job or plan to move into a new career.

Personal development is a personal strategy that helps you to discover yourself, develop potentials, talent and abilities so that you can fulfill your dreams in life through deliberate actions. And you can start today!