Personal development cannot be separated from professional development.
Working on yourself is a prerequisite to maximizing your financial efficiency. And personal development means more than earning power. But the connection is powerful and developing financial discipline is a key aspect of financial success.
Let’s delve into the introduction of how personal development contributes to better earning potential.
What does it mean to invest in yourself and why is this important?
“Investing in yourself” can be a literal phrase, in many cases.
Spending money on something that improves your health and functionality is the most literal way to “invest” in yourself. But this type of investment is multifaceted.
Most kinds of personal development, however, are not things you can pay for. Self-awareness is the key to most personal development. It’s about discovering your strengths and weaknesses, improving the former, and reducing the latter.
The goal of personal development.
Personal development (personal growth) is the process of assessing and improving on your strengths and weaknesses. You consider them alongside your values and choose a path that helps you grow.
This process can and should play out in all the important aspects of your life. The way it plays out in your financial life will have a direct effect on other areas like your physical health and your sense of well-being. It will likely also affect your social life, personal knowledge, and more.
Personal development differs from professional development because it more broadly refers to what you want out of your life. You are not simply setting financial goals, but are thinking of the bigger picture.
Personal development just affects those other areas in a direct way.
How can you earn more money by investing in yourself?
Personal development requires a hard look at your life accomplishments so far.
It requires a thoughtful assessment of where you are and where you want to be. This inevitably influences your career progression, one doesn’t change without some effect on the other.
The positive improvement you want to see in your earnings comes through the interactions between personal development skills and professional development.
Personal development skills.
Short-term results in your professional life largely lean on your personal development skills. These are the “soft skills” that rule how well you leverage your own abilities in your working life.
The key personal development skills are:
- People skills
- Confidence
- Attitude
- Written communication
- Adaptability
- Integrity
- Leadership
People skills reflect your ability to interact with others effectively. It’s a question of both verbal and non-verbal communication. People may refer to it as your “social intelligence,” and it includes things like how you pick up on social cues and collaborate with your colleagues.
Confidence is self-explanatory, but its importance can’t be overstated. It’s also about how much you believe in your abilities and how assertive you can be when it matters.
Your attitude is important, too, and deserves its own reflection. In general, the more successful you are towards your goals, the better your attitude will be.
But it’s worth working on your belief in yourself and your mission in a way that improves your attitude. Regardless of what anyone thinks, people pick up on cues that are naturally communicated through your attitude.
Written communication skills help you in all circumstances. They enhance your ability to communicate your needs and convince others to see things your way.
Adaptability is necessary if you are going to be able to weather any changes. Being open to and ready to adapt to change broadens your career possibilities and allows you to make it further.
Integrity may not be a “skill” but it’s something to value deeply and foster respect long-term.
Lastly, leadership is something that isn’t only for leaders. Your leadership is your ability to motivate, direct, and inspire others. Every role requires some level of contextual leadership and a situation requiring leadership will always arise at some point.
If you’re trying to maximize your career success, take on more responsibilities, and earn more money, you will need to be a better leader.
But how does personal development affect your career growth?
On their own, any of the personal development skills will improve some aspects of your work life. But a broad approach and dedication to improvement are needed to improve your earning potential.
Your career can benefit from these skills through:
- A better understanding of yourself
- A better sense of direction
- Better career possibilities
- An improved ability to work with others and handle more responsibilities
- Being able to adjust and plan according to a bigger picture
- Greater resilience
- Fulfilling your self-made goals and achieving the work-life balance that you want
Updated from Jun 3, 2024
