Personal development involves obtaining skills that make you a more proficient and successful business owner.
This allows you to grow as a person and handle challenges related to your business in a better way.
And trust me, there will be many!
Looking out for your self-growth can be an honorable endeavor though it cannot be something that is left vague and without focus. Without some direction, the idea of self-growth can be lost until you work out what it means to you, personally.
Improving yourself for better employment prospects, wealth building, and increased consciousness should not be underestimated either.
Simply saying that you want to achieve self-growth is one thing yet you need to consider certain aspects of your personal development to develop it to the best of your ability.
Reaching your best self should be a continuous process yet it needs to be considered and focused or else it can seem quite lackluster.
If you wish to become a more developed business owner, here are some key aspects of self-growth that you should pursue.
Table of Contents
Realizing Your Own Identity
Take the time to work out what you want and what you represent in your identity, deep down inside.
The desires could be in social growth, mental growth, emotional growth, spiritual growth, or purely physical growth.
Without knowing what it is that makes you YOU, it can be difficult to work out how best to approach your personal development and self-growth. Being the best version of yourself can only work if you know what you want and what your own identity entails.
Look at what your own desires are for your own future, not those of other people (no matter how close they may be or how tight-knit your family is).
Work out what your own values are and how you present yourself to others, perhaps how you can improve that presentation and your behavior. While you may doubt your own identity and its success, it is intrinsically you and if you become the best version of yourself, it will be well-liked.
Others want to find out and experience you as your own true identity so as soon as you have that nailed down, you can experience self-growth on your own terms.
Furthermore, you will have to learn how to make your own choices. If you wish to grow as a business owner, you must forge your own identity.
One book that goes in deep to find out about yourself and your own identity is The Impact of Identity: The Power of Knowing Who You Are by Irina Nevzlin.
The book should make you consider the human condition and really make you think about yourself. If anything, the book may help you realize that how we see the world as individuals, our values, and our sense of self are what truly define us and our identity.
Becoming More Self-Aware
What is self-awareness?
Self-awareness is a deep understanding of your own personality and actions.
That basically means becoming aware of yourself and everything about you. Your flaws, your strengths, your mannerisms, your behavior, even your speech. Everything matters when it is what defines you as an individual.
When you become self-aware, you are better able to assess your emotions and characteristics. You can perceive your strengths and weaknesses.
This is important if you want to become a more developed individual and business owner.
By becoming self-aware, you can identify elements of your personality that need improvement. You can create a list of your strengths and weaknesses so that you know which traits you want to develop.
This way, you can keep a track of the skills that you need to develop for self-growth.
Until you become fully self-aware, it can be hard to work out your own identity and then proceed with your self-development as a focused exercise. That’s because the best person who knows you, is you and, though a therapist could help, you should start by writing down what are your essential qualities.
Attempting to become more self-aware can also boost your confidence. This is because it highlights the fact that you have numerous strengths, of which you might not have previously been aware.
Self-reflection can be tough, but it can be extremely worthwhile.
Everyone has their own qualities and it can take time to work out what these are.
Dig deep down, find a quiet spot, grab a pen and paper then get writing. These could be simple qualities like your ability to listen, good judgment, adept decision-making, and candor towards others.
Whatever it is, simply considering them, identifying them, and writing them down is a great start to self-awareness.
There are various techniques for becoming self-aware though a lot of it can be down to your self-esteem.
A book that looks directly at that is Self-Esteem: A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing, Improving, and Maintaining Your Self-Esteem by Matthew McKay Ph.D.
Working out your own self-worth can mean working out how to cope with low self-esteem which is detailed in McKay’s best-selling classic.
Developing Your Strengths And Talents
Once you have realized your own identity and become highly self-aware, you can then work on developing your strengths and talents. These are those features of your personality and mind that you appreciate and are there to help you achieve your goals.
Being able to find your talents is critical for a business owner.
Everyone has talents. Whether you are an amazing artist or a brilliant leader, everyone is good at something.
While you can develop talents that you do not currently possess, a major part of personal development focuses on improving your current skills. This way, you can become even better at something that you are already good at. Ideally, this is also a talent that you feel passionately about.
Try not to look at those strengths that you desire that other people have as they have likely worked on them for years, even decades. Talents and strengths need to be honed over time, not sought after simply because you want them immediately.
That continued want for talents that you do not have can lead to sabotaging your self-growth as it can become debilitating when you cannot be blessed with a talent that you do not have. Instead, pay more time and work on the ones that you do have.
If you chase a talent you do not already possess, you might end up neglecting some of the skills you already have.
Ideally, you should find a balance between getting new talents and nurturing your current ones.
However, if you are struggling to identify your talents, think about what you are passionate about. You can also ask some of the people who know you best, such as your parents and friends.
Building your business around your talents can give you a huge advantage also considering that there will be challenging moments in your business. During these moments having a business aligned with your talents will make things easier.
If you are not sure of what your own strengths and talents are, perhaps pursue new endeavors. That may be a new hobby, a new job, or simply taking on a new role. These could unlock your personal development so that you discover what your strengths and talents are, and maybe find some new ones.
Always be open to new discoveries as it can be crucial for self-growth, simply due to a continued desire to learn.
If there is a book to read to help you work at this then it is likely Your Best Self at Work: Aligning Strengths, Emotional Intelligence & Resilience by Benjamin Dilla and Joel Bennett.
You could even learn a course to help you grow your career and your own skills. Various online resources include courses such as those on HubSpot Academy or Udemy.
Avoiding Negative Thoughts
The final aspect of personal development that you must bear in mind is avoiding negative thoughts. It can be easy to let your thoughts consume you.
There could be moments when you have so many things to deal with that you feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
However…
I believe that the road to personal development relies on positive thinking and positive beliefs.
If you focus on negative thoughts, you will likely become a more stressed and anxious person.
This will probably detract from your development instead of helping it.
It also really helps analyze your behaviors to identify any negative beliefs you have. Very often we might not be aware of those.
Beliefs are one of the main drivers of our actions.
What Are The Areas Of Personal Development?
Now that you know the four main aspects that are essential for personal development, you will also need to understand the different areas.
Essentially, these are the 5 areas in which you will need to develop to achieve personal growth as a business owner.
Though you can develop in just one of these areas, you should aim to grow in all 5 of them. Here are the areas of personal development:
Emotional
Developing your emotions can be difficult. We live in a society that often shuns the expression of emotions.
Yet, if you wish to truly develop, you must get in touch with your feelings. Learn how to healthily express and manage your emotions.
One way of doing this is by being able to talk about your emotions. Moreover, you can learn to express your emotions through your talents.
Writing about your emotions, such as in a diary or journal, is also a wonderful way of becoming more emotionally developed.
Mental
As a business owner, it is essential that you develop your mind.
This way, you can become a more open-minded individual who is willing to accept different ideas and ways of thinking.
Unless you embrace new concepts and ideas, you are unlikely to experience personal growth.
There are tons of interesting ways of developing your mind. One way of doing this is by becoming an avid reader.
Ideally, you should read a variety of different books or listen to podcasts to broaden your mind.
I often listen to podcasts that can be a real gold mine to come up with actionable ideas for your existing business or with new business ideas.
Having a sharp and open mind can be really useful in a variety of circumstances, so it is worth developing!
Social
Social development focuses on communicating. If you become a more effective communicator, you can better socialize with others.
And creating a network with other people is a critical skill for a business owner.
After all, you want to connect to the potential customers of your business in a way that positively contributes to them.
Working on your public speaking or trying to become a better listener are effective strategies for social growth.
Spiritual
Depending on where you are with your development journey, you might assume that spiritual development is not important for a business owner.
Yet, I think that spiritual growth can benefit everybody.
This is because everyone believes in something. For instance, everyone has certain moral values. And those values are at the core of the way you run your business.
Getting in touch with your spiritual side, for example through meditation, can help you find peace in difficult moments and realign yourself with your purpose.
See it as a way to recharge to be ready to run your business at your best!
Physical
Alongside developing your mind, you should also develop your body. This is because the mind works harmoniously with the body.
You might assume that this means doing a lot of exercise.
While it is true that exercise can lead to you having a more optimized body, there are other steps that you need to take.
For instance, you might need to spend some time working on your eating habits.
If you continuously eat unhealthy food, your body is unlikely to be well-developed. You also need to cultivate a beneficial sleep schedule.
If your body is healthy, working on your business will be a lot easier.
Closing Remarks
Personal development is worth pursuing as part of the process of being a business owner.
You will likely feel incredibly fulfilled once you have acquired the skills that you have been working toward.
The 4 aspects of personal development can help you on your business journey. Think of them as tips that can assist you as you grow.
Meanwhile, you should attempt to develop in all the areas mentioned above to achieve successful self-growth and to be ready to grow your business.
I’m a blogger and entrepreneur. I want to help you in your journey to build your business online.
