Eight Tips to Accelerate Your Personal
and Professional Growth

By Shawn Mike

Life is beautiful. From youth to old age, it is an adventurous journey in which we explore ourselves and our surroundings in different ways. Consequently, that journey leads to personal and professional growth.

So, how does one go on to achieve personal growth?

First of all, we would like to say that personal growth is not a one-off process. It is continuous. You have to develop daily habits and stick to them to learn new things. Only the level of effort from your end can help you achieve the results that you want.

And honestly, it is tough.

In the beginning, you would feel as though you are not making any sort of progress. However, once you start to get a grip on things, your struggles will be a lot easier.

Personal and professional growth are gradual processes. You will have to come out of your comfort zone to gain a better understanding of things.

In this day and age of the internet, you can find tons of resources on personal and professional growth. For example, if you do not know how to edit a PDF file then simply type "easy pdf to doc" on the search engine and you will get thousands of results for it. These search results can range from social media seminars, and professional conferences, to YouTube tutorials, and podcasts. Whatever your preferred learning style, the internet will definitely cater for you.

However, if you are still unsure, then you can begin with these eight tips that will help accelerate your personal and professional growth.

1. It all begins with learning

Consider learning a few things related to your occupation. If you just started in HR, then try to learn as much as you can about the field.

In general, learning things can prove beneficial in the long run. A mind enriched with information earns respect easily, networks like a pro, and is a better conversationalist. Listening to podcasts, attending conferences, reading the latest books, and free online courses are some of the most popular ways one can start learning.

2. Becoming a volunteer

Volunteering is an excellent alternative for both personal and professional growth if you are not too keen on the things mentioned above. Volunteering for a good cause can help you learn new skills. Moreover, it also boosts your moral and personal development. By volunteering regularly, you will find yourself to be a happier individual. AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps are two great options. In addition to serving as vehicles for making a difference, they offer perks such as tuition for school, loan forgiveness, and free health care. Sound good? Before you dive in, it’s important to look at each experience in detail, including the challenges you may face and the benefits you’ll receive both during and after.

3. Expand your network

Meeting new people, talking to them, getting their opinion on various things, providing your insights, and then forming a consensus on a particular topic is all that networking is about.

Now, social networking is something that can prove valuable to you, but overall, social media has too many distractions, which, in turn, lower your professional and personal growth metrics.

Sites like Quora, Eventbrite, and Meetup are better in comparison to the contemporary social media platforms. On these sites, instead of being barraged with internet memes and irrelevant news, you will find like-minded people that will help you in the journey of personal and professional growth.

4. Attending events and conferences

This tip takes its roots from tip number one and three. You attend conferences related to productive endeavors like entrepreneurship or investments. In the meeting, you learn new things related to your respective field of interest. Post-conference, you meet up with like-minded individuals who provide you more insights on that topic.

Simply put, attending events is a beautiful mixture of learning and networking. Try to attend a few conferences every year. Again, there are many ways you can be creative with your personal and professional growth process, you just have to explore them.

5. Explore your creativity

Every human being has a set of unique qualities. Think about the things that make you stand out and utilize that potential within you. If you like writing; start up a blog. If you love photography; then pick up your camera, go to your favorite destination, and take some photos.

Creativity is, perhaps, the most productive tool with which you can express your emotions. The more photos you take, and the more you write on your blog, the more confidence you will gain. With time, you will look back and see a whole new person in front of you.

6. Prioritize your health

Even if you have a lot of things going on, your health should always be your first priority.

If you do not dedicate time and effort to your health, your confidence and concentration level will most probably decline. Focusing on a nutritious diet, working out, and sleeping properly are all important metrics that determine your health. A healthier body means a healthier, and more productive you!

7. Understand who you are

If you really have a desire for professional and personal growth, you will naturally find situations where you can experience them.

However, the experience from those situations can only be utilized once you have a clear understanding of who you are. Look within yourself to understand what you need to change about yourself, and how you will make such changes.

8. Time management

Saving the best for last, you will have to manage your time appropriately so that you can utilize it for your personal and professional growth. Excuses won’t get you anywhere in life, that is a fact. We all have the same 24 hours, and how we utilize that time is entirely up to us.

Time management is important. You will have to prioritize time to manage things more effectively. Additionally, you will have to make some sacrifices. If your television is distracting you, shut it off. If social media is inhibiting your workflow, use a blocking filter to cut off all notifications.

Conclusion

Now that you have reached the end of this article, we would like to ask you, “are you ready to make a positive change in your professional and personal life?”

The answer might not be as straightforward for everyone, but in and of itself, this question should prompt you to re-read the tips mentioned above, and take action.

The tips discussed above only scratch the surface of personal and professional growth. There are a great many things that we could add to this. But for the sake of convenience for the uninitiated, we think that these tips would suffice for now.