As we start the new year with a fresh perspective, it is a perfect time to pause and reflect in areas of personal and professional development. How can we flourish in our relationship between being more mindful while continuing to grow? It’s an important question to ask ourselves when we think about personal development.
The newly reclaimed energy of the new year provides the vitality to experience something new and fresh. Combining this vitality with learning a new skill gives way to a psychological state that we all aim for, called thriving.
Our ability to thrive allows us to change our behaviors as we evaluate what it takes for us to flourish in our tasks and relationships. Thriving is the result of our interactions. When we thrive, there is a need to be more attentive to our experiences. To be aware of the moment while regulating our feelings and adapting to the needs of others. When we are thriving, we are mindfully attentive and making adjustments with positive energy.
Thriving is your key to being adaptive to change at work while promoting your development. While learning a new skill, you experience an “aha” moment when your potential becomes realized. The experience of an “aha” moment is also experiential learning. When we learn, we activate the cognitive psychological aspects of personal growth.
The key to being able to thrive is to “stay grounded” while stepping outside of the comfort zone. To be honest with yourself and your commitments. The following four strategies provide an offering for developing your human skills that are the underlying keys to success and thriving.
4 Strategies for Building Human Skills
- Set the Goal
Let’s commit to developing those Human Skills (aka soft skills) that will take you and those around you to the next level. Human skills are not a luxury for a few of us. They are a necessity towards progressing forward in society. Setting a goal, writing it down, and making a verbal commitment increases the likely hood of success. Let’s encourage and challenge ourselves to steps outside of our comfort zone and engage others in areas of trust and compassion.
- Seek out Leadership Development Opportunities
Human skills do not come naturally to most people. It takes active engagement and refinement. The reason is that people are not fully aware of their stressors and emotional triggers. We need some help in guiding our frustration and sustaining enthusiasm. Find a program that focuses on developing interpersonal skills, resolving conflict, building a team, and making informed strategic decisions. These programs are immensely helpful in understanding one’s strengths while improving in areas of your development.
- Invest Time
Achieving the aim of any commitment will require a significant amount of time as an investment. When you invest that time, you are also engaging others for their advice and listening to a diverse group of viewpoints. Taking time to develop your strategies will also help in fending off burnout. Remember, investing time in yourself is a lifelong commitment.
- Adopt an Experimental Mindset
We learn through our experiences, and leadership development is no different. Each day offers an opportunity to learn something new and provide it to others. Take time each day to reflect on what worked well and areas that perhaps need adjusting. Reflect. Adapt. Adjust, and reevaluate, repeat.
When you are mindfully attentive and thriving, research states that you also increase job performance. Consequently, being mindful and thriving allows you to move beyond the concerns of the ego. It opens the door to helping others and volunteering. When we thrive, we continuously work to be emotionally and cognitively equipped to engage positively with others in a way that allows each party to flourish in the year to come.