There is no doubt that being a twenty-something can be intense and daunting at times. Of course, it can also be exciting, fun and totally awesome.
Much of this rollercoaster ride is down to the huge changes that everyone undergoes from 20 to 29 – it is fair to say that no one is the same at the end of their twenties as they were at the start.
While this process of gradual change will happen naturally as you build up life experience, you should also make time for self-development.
Actively challenging yourself is a key part of any twenty-something’s growth as a person. It can bring some amazing benefits and help you to become the person you want to be when 30 comes knocking.
What is self-development?
If you have never practiced self-development before, you may well wonder what it is. In simple terms, it is the process of becoming more aware of your own knowledge or skills in a bid to improve them. It can also include looking at your overall sense of identity and seeking out ways to develop a growth mindset for personal development.
Self-development effectively sees you take proactive control of your own life in order to reach the goals or aspirations you have. It can also help you refine your character and grow as a person to become the best version of yourself.
This post may contain commissionable links. Thank you for supporting this resource.
But what specific reasons are there to actively challenge yourself and practice self-development? Focusing on self-development can…
Enable you to learn new skills.
Actively challenging yourself to engage in self-development can help you develop new skills. This is very useful in life as it not only fills you with a sense of fulfillment but will also help you grow as a person. As you move through your twenties, this active growth is something to aim for. While this might sound daunting, it does not have to be.
Some ways you can learn new skills regularly:
- Take a Masterclass every month
- Watch a YouTube video on a new topic
- Follow a monthly or yearly challenge
- Take on new projects
Give your self-awareness a boost.
At its root, self-development starts with self-awareness. One of the benefits of personal development is getting to know your true self. This allows you to work out what your values are, what your beliefs are and what is important to you in life. It also helps you become aware of what path you want to take in life and what you want to achieve.
This level of self-awareness is the only path to lasting happiness and true fulfillment in life. When you are chasing your own dreams and goals, you will suddenly find things a lot more satisfying. Even if you do not reach them, the experiences you had on the way will allow you to exit your twenties better developed as a person.
Help to improve focus.
Modern life is pretty hectic and this is certainly true for anyone looking to make it through their twenties. Between your career and personal life, there will often be numerous things vying for your attention. If you have not practiced active self-development, you might find this overwhelming or hard to handle.
If you do actively practice self-development and challenge yourself to grow, though, you should find that prioritizing tasks gets simpler. The growth you will see as a person helps life to seem clearer and makes working out which objectives are really important a much easier task. In essence, by getting to know your own strengths and improving on your personal skills, you can focus on the truly important things in life.
Brings fresh motivation to succeed.
Making the effort to get out of your comfort zone to grow on a personal level can reward you with more motivation to succeed in life. This comes from setting clear goals and future targets for where you want to go. Whether it is as a person or in your career, setting out what you plan to do and how to do it helps motivate you to take action.
Goal setting is really crucial to developing as a person because it sets out tasks that need completing. Not only will this make you more likely to follow the objectives you have set but you should also feel motivated enough to complete them to the highest standard. Overall, this can really help you develop as a person as you move through your twenties.
Help to build resilience.
If we never try to grow and never actively challenge ourselves, we are not allowing ourselves to become resilient. While staying as you are in your comfort zone might sound fine, it does not help when tough times come along in life. This, unfortunately, is a given for everyone and you must take steps to become resilient to the stresses that life delivers. Although practicing self-development will not stop bad things happening, it can help you become more confident in dealing with them and moving past them.
Improve your self-love and self-esteem.
As we know, self-love doesn’t always come easy but it is also one of the most important things you can do on your self development journey. Self-love is about respecting yourself without judgement and loving yourself, flaws and all.
I find it helpful to have a reminder of self-love to look at everyday. This hug ring, for example, is something you can wear on your hand as a physical reminder to accept yourself without judgement.
Focusing on self-development is the path to fulfillment.
As a term, self-development is something that many people struggle to understand. It can also be hard to grasp what benefits it brings.
This can certainly be true in your twenties, when there are so many other things to pay attention to! Taking the time to actively challenge yourself is something to really think about, though. It not only helps to build character and develop new skills but also gives you the tools to handle life effectively.