I am really passionate about the future being female and this is the ultimate game changer for women if only we could look up and realise that the ceiling is glass and very much breakable. With corona virus having disrupted so many things and people losing their jobs, it calls for a shift of things; thinking outside the box mentality and women should really invest in personal development. One would ask why personal development?, Personal development is an important aspect of life as this helps to assess skills and abilities and qualities that women have in order to unlock their full potential. Don’t limit yourself because of gender or ethnicity. Personal development takes purpose, hard work, focus, determination and believing in yourself to achieve your goals and reaching for the very thing that you thought you couldn’t get. One cannot wait for a big bang moment or someone to motivate them; sometimes it has to be the woman looking at you in the mirror who has to motivate you every day. All progress takes place outside the comfort zone and if you fail to get out of that space you can’t expect a miracle to happen. Get up, dress up and show up.
Good goals for personal development
- Develop a reading habit
- Learn new things
- Develop a growth mind-set
- Improve on your time management
- Set goals and stick to them
Just as in business, companies use SWOT for analysis, the same should be used in our personal development.
Strength: these are things you excel at e.g. connections that you have access to, it can be things that other people tell you that you are great at or what you do better than others.
Weakness: these are things that hold you back e.g. lack of confidence and self-esteem, the things you struggle with the most.
Opportunities: This is when you need to look at your weakness and see how you can use you strengths to overcome the weaknesses.
Threats: these are things that can derail your success but it is important to know the threats so that you don’t get blindsided by them. At times our weaknesses if not addressed can be threats that often inhibit our success.
The rules haven’t changed; it is just the game that has. It is important to be developing yourself constantly, as the world is evolving so should you.
“Dreams are lovely but they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral and pretty But they do not come true just because you dream them. Its hard work that makes things happens. Its hard work that creates change” Shonda Rhimes.
This article was written by Sharon Maruta, Underwriting Manager – FBC Re Bulawayo