7 easy steps to enable your personal/career development
““Never give up without a try” is a childhood message that I was constantly hearing from my mum.
“You can do anything, it just depends how hard you want it.” - I still remember when I was a teen, having a conversation with an aspiring actor who was telling me his story about how he kept applying to acting school and despite the rejection, he kept going. Guess what? He is not aspiring anymore. He is an actor and is doing what he is truly passionate about.
I suppose for those and other reasons, I am a strong believer in growth mindset.
What are the main differences between growth vs fixed mindset?
People with growth mindset believe that their abilities can be developed and improved over time, while those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are innate and cannot be changed. “Mindset” by Carol Dweck is a must read if you are intrigued and want to know more.
And so, I was and am quite determined and persistent at school, at uni and at my job. On many occasions this can involve a lot of effort but especially if I am really passionate and want a particular thing, I keep going for it no matter how difficult it seems at times.
I was particularly motivated when I was told that there is no point to keep trying to apply for an internship as I do not stand a chance, that maybe I shouldn't be applying yet a third time for the same role and get the message but you know what, I got that internship, and I got that job. :) Obviously as most of you, I prefer positive encouragement and the feeling of being rejected was not particularly pleasant for me.
It was not that I wanted to prove all those people wrong that kept me going, though. What kept me going was the belief that I can improve and develop over time, one step at a time.
Try an easy and tangible 7 step technique today that helped me and see how it works out for you:
What is it that you would like to achieve/ become?
What are one or two capabilities that you need to develop? Give yourself a timeframe: e.g. 3 months
Describe where you are today for those capabilities and how would it look in 3 months from now? Be realistic and describe the behaviours that you will show in future? How would it feel at the end of that period when you achieved your goal?
Draw a plan: divide it in two, three or four week iterations and start writing one, two activities that will approach you to your goal: it can be reading a ⅓ book in one iteration, do a research, practice something in particular in another iteration, meet an expert and receive some mentoring/ coaching, attend webinars or training etc.
Once you are done, look at the plan and challenge yourself. With everything that is happening in your personal and professional life, is this realistic? If not, make modifications.
Tap yourself on the shoulder as now, you have clarity on what you need to do to grow further.
Follow after each iteration on that plan, celebrate if you managed to achieve what you wanted and be kind to yourself if you did not. You will eventually learn to plan your development in a more realistic way. In the meantime, you have also worked on your growth. :)
Too simple? It is. So, try it out today/
Sounds complicated? Not too sure...Feel free to reach out and I will be happy to help you take ownership of your development.
What other techniques and tools have you used in the past to grow your skills and abilities to a level that was not imaginable even for you?
What stories/ examples would you care to share that helped you grow? I would love to try something new, wouldn't you?
