Personal Growth & Self-Development to Improve Career Options

If you are like the rest of us you probably grew up hearing that all you had to do is just get a job and work hard and you will have no problem moving up. Well this article is set to prove how nothing could be further from the truth. At least as far as the 21st century goes. That may have worked in the 19th century before modern technology changed the scope of the workforce but in the 21st century it gets a little more complicated than that. The good news is that if you learn the principles of personal growth and self-development it does not have to be as hard as it looks.

If you keep up with the news, especially in the United States, you probably know that there is an employment crisis. Or at least from the looks of it anyway. As many as 1/3 of the economy is said to be unemployed, possibly as much as half.  The reason so many are unemployed is not so much as lack of work but due to the fact that so many do not have the technical skills to get the jobs that are out there. This is why the ones who do work find jobs in food service, retail, and temporary jobs such as day labor. Many of these jobs are only part-time.

If you want to get a good job you have to do more than just work hard. Maybe years ago you could finish high school and get a good job but these days you have to have some sort of post-secondary education, even though it does not have to be a full bachelor’s degree. Many people get a degree but it’s in Liberal Arts. While this field is highly interesting and you can learn a lot about culture, it does not guaranteed you a skill job. You may get a good job as a manager in training in a business or as a sales representative. If you can do those two you can do anything; or just find some skill and go self-employed.

Either way you look at it you have to do more than just work hard. You have to pursue self-development and personal growth above all else. For years businesses have used the field of Psychology to manipulate individuals into buying their goods and services, even if they had to get them to go into debt. You, as the consumer, can apply the same field of study to develop yourself and your skills. Get to know who you really are and find out what you really want.

Once you find out what you truly want in life you have reached the pinnacle of personal growth. There will be nothing to stop you from there as you step out and begin to pursue your dreams.  Many people go to work and pursue mind-numbing jobs they do not really enjoy all for the sake of money. One person even put in a Facebook post that he considered Monday “Day 1 of a hostage situation”.  That is about as extreme as you can get. If you feel that way about your job then it is high time you do some self-examination and apply yourself to personal growth and figure out what you want you want to be when you grow up. Never mind the fact that you in pushing 40; given you will probably be in the workforce another 30 years or more.

Another observance about the economy that few people notice is that there is a growing number of freelancers. There is about 1/3 of the economy that is classified as freelancers with the freelancers union. This is pretty close to the number that is supposedly unemployed.  These people are mostly middle-aged and just filling in the gap until they retire with jobs here and there with skills they picked up in the workforce. But they are not just doing it solely because they have to. Most of them love the freedom that self-employment brings, even if it pays significantly less than what they made on someone else’s payroll.   

What’s the secret to succeeding to succeeding as a freelancer? They know who they are and what they want. They have experienced self-development and personal growth and have a general understanding of Psychology and human behavior from all their years in the workforce.

The good news is you do not have to be self-employed to be an entrepreneur. In order to have a fulfilling career you have to hone your skills and sell yourself to whoever is willing to hire you. The more entrepreneurial you are the less likely you will ever have to worry about ever going without work. Money management is a key and keeping yourself out of debt but that is another aspect of personal growth that is best saved for another article.

By getting to know yourself through personal growth you may develop yourself to the point that you can sell yourself so well you may want to be an entrepreneur. It is not uncommon for many freelancers to be offered full-time jobs with their clients; especially since much freelance work is a string of part-time jobs that may be long term or temporary. 

- Erwin Bishop