write an essay about personal development plan

How to Create a Personal Development Plan: 3 Examples

For successful change, it is vital that the client remains engaged, recognizing and identifying with the goals captured inside and outside sessions. A personal development plan (PDP) creates a focus for development while offering a guide for life and future success (Starr, 2021).

This article introduces and explores the value of personal development plans, offering tools, worksheets, and approaches to boost self-reflection and self-improvement.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains

What is personal development 7 theories, coaching in personal development and growth, how to create a personal development plan, 3 examples of personal development plans, defining goals and objectives: 10 tips and tools, fostering personal development skills, 3 inspiring books to read on the topic, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message, frequently asked questions.

Personal development is a fundamental concept in psychology and encompasses the lifelong process of self-improvement, self-awareness, and personal growth. Crucial to coaching and counseling, it aims to enhance various aspects of clients’ lives, including their emotional wellbeing, relationships, careers, and overall happiness (Cox, 2018; Starr, 2021).

Several psychological models underpin and support transformation. Together, they help us understand personal development in our clients and the mechanisms and approaches available to make positive life changes (Cox, 2018; Passmore, 2021).

The following psychological theories and frameworks underpin and influence the approach a mental health professional adopts.

1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

As a proponent of the humanistic or person-centered approach to helping people, Abraham Maslow (1970) suggested that individuals have a hierarchy of needs. Simply put, they begin with basic physiological and safety needs and progress through psychological and self-fulfillment needs.

Personal development is often found in or recognized by the pursuit of higher-level needs, such as self-esteem and self-actualization (Cox, 2018).

2. Erikson’s psychosocial development

Erik Erikson (1963) mapped out a series of eight psychosocial development stages that individuals go through across their lifespan.

Each one involves challenges and crises that once successfully navigated, contribute to personal growth and identity development.

3. Piaget’s cognitive development

The biologist and epistemologist Jean Piaget (1959) focused on cognitive development in children and how they construct their understanding of the world.

We can draw on insights from Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, including intellectual growth and adaptability, to inform our own and others’ personal development (Illeris, 2018).

4. Bandura’s social cognitive theory

Albert Bandura’s (1977) theory highlights the role of social learning and self-efficacy in personal development. It emphasizes that individuals can learn and grow through observation, imitation, and belief in their ability to effect change.

5. Self-determination theory

Ryan and Deci’s (2018) motivational self-determination theory recognizes the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in personal development.

Their approach suggests that individuals are more likely to experience growth and wellbeing when such basic psychological needs are met.

6. Positive psychology

Positive psychology , developed by Martin Seligman (2011) and others, focuses on strengths, wellbeing, and the pursuit of happiness.

Seligman’s PERMA model offers a framework for personal development that emphasizes identifying and using our strengths while cultivating positive emotions and experiences (Lomas et al., 2014).

7. Cognitive-Behavioral Theory (CBT)

Developed by Aaron Beck (Beck & Haigh, 2014) and Albert Ellis (2000), CBT explores the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

As such, the theory provides practical techniques for personal development, helping individuals identify and challenge negative thought patterns and behaviors (Beck, 2011).

Theories like the seven mentioned above offer valuable insights into many of the psychological processes underlying personal development. They provide a sound foundation for coaches and counselors to support their clients and help them better understand themselves, their motivations, and the paths they can take to foster positive change in their lives (Cox, 2018).

The client–coach relationship is significant to successful growth and goal achievement.

Typically, the coach will focus on the following (Cox, 2018):

• Actualizing tendency This supports a “universal human motivation resulting in growth, development and autonomy of the individual” (Cox, 2018, p. 53).
• Building a relationship facilitating change Trust clients to find their own way while displaying empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard . The coach’s “outward responses consistently match their inner feelings towards a client,” and they display a warm acceptance that they are being how they need to be (Passmore, 2021, p. 162).
• Adopting a positive psychological stance Recognize that the client has the potential and wish to become fully functioning (Cox, 2018).

Effective coaching for personal growth involves adopting and committing to a series of beliefs that remind the coach that the “coachee is responsible for the results they create” (Starr, 2021, p. 18) and help them recognize when they may be avoiding this idea.

The following principles are, therefore, helpful for coaching personal development and growth (Starr, 2021).

• Stay committed to supporting the client. While initially strong, you may experience factors that reduce your sense of support for the individual’s challenges.
• Coach nonjudgmentally. Our job is not to adopt a stance based on personal beliefs or judgment of others, but to help our clients form connections between behavior and results.
• Maintain integrity, openness, and trust. The client must feel safe in your company and freely able to express themselves.
• Responsibility does not equal blame. Clients who take on blame rather than responsibility will likely feel worse about something without acknowledging their influence on the situation.
• The client can achieve better results. The client is always capable of doing and achieving more, especially in relation to their goals.
• Focus on clients’ thoughts and experiences. Collaborative coaching is about supporting the growth and development of the client, getting them to where they want to go.
• Clients can arrive at perfect solutions. “As a coach, you win when someone else does” (Starr, 2021, p. 34). The solution needs to be the client’s, not yours.
• Coach as an equal partnership. Explore the way forward together collaboratively rather than from a parental or advisory perspective.

Creating a supportive and nonjudgmental environment helps clients explore their thoughts, feelings, and goals, creating an environment for personal development and flourishing (Passmore, 2021).

Download 3 Free Goals Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques for lasting behavior change.

Download 3 Free Goals Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

• Email Address *
• Your Expertise * Your expertise Therapy Coaching Education Counseling Business Healthcare Other
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

A personal development plan is a powerful document “to create mutual clarity of the aims and focus of a coaching assignment” (Starr, 2021, p. 291). While it is valuable during coaching, it can also capture a client’s way forward once sessions have ended.

Crucially, it should have the following characteristics (Starr, 2021):

• Short and succinct
• Providing a quick reference or point of discussion
• Current and fresh, regularly revised and updated

Key elements of a personal development plan include the following (Starr, 2021):

• Area of development This is the general skill or competence to be worked on.
• Development objectives or goals What does the client want to do? Examples might include reducing stress levels, improving diet, or managing work–life balance .
• Behaviors to develop These comprise what the client will probably do more of when meeting their objectives, for example, practicing better coping mechanisms, eating more healthily, and better managing their day.
• Actions to create progress What must the client do to action their objectives? For example, arrange a date to meet with their manager, sign up for a fitness class, or meet with a nutritionist.
• Date to complete or review the objective Capture the dates for completing actions, meeting objectives, and checking progress.

Check out Lindsey Cooper’s excellent video for helpful guidance on action planning within personal development.

We can write and complete personal development plans in many ways. Ultimately, they should meet the needs of the client and leave them with a sense of connection to and ownership of their journey ahead (Starr, 2021).

• Personal Development Plan – Areas of Development In this PDP , we draw on guidance from Starr (2021) to capture development opportunities and the behaviors and actions needed to achieve them.
• Personal Development Plan – Opportunities for Development This template combines short- and long-term goal setting with a self-assessment of strengths, weaknesses, and development opportunities.
• Personal Development Plan – Ideal Self In this PDP template , we focus on our vision of how our ideal self looks and setting goals to get there.

“The setting of a goal becomes the catalyst that drives the remainder of the coaching conversation.”

Passmore, 2021, p. 80

Defining goals and objectives is crucial to many coaching conversations and is usually seen as essential for personal development.

Check out this video on how you can design your life with your personal goals in mind.

The following coaching templates are helpful, containing a series of questions to complete Whitmore’s (2009) GROW model :

• G stands for Goal : Where do you want to be?
• R stands for Reality : Where are you right now with this goal?
• O stands for Options : What are some options for reaching your goal?
• W stands for Way forward : What is your first step forward?

Goal setting creates both direction and motivation for clients to work toward achieving something and meeting their objectives (Passmore, 2021).

The SMART goal-setting framework is another popular tool inside coaching and elsewhere.

S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable/ or Agreed upon R = Realistic T = Timely – allowing enough time for achievement

The SMART+ Goals Worksheet contains a series of prompts and spaces for answers to define goals and capture the steps toward achieving them.

We can summarize the five principles of goal setting (Passmore, 2021) as follows:

• Goals must be clear and not open to interpretation.
• Goals should be stretching yet achievable.
• Clients must buy in to the goal from the outset.
• Feedback is essential to keep the client on track.
• Goals should be relatively straightforward. We can break down complex ones into manageable subgoals.

The following insightful articles are also helpful for setting and working toward goals.

• What Is Goal Setting and How to Do it Well
• The Science & Psychology of Goal-Setting 101

1. People skills

Improving how we work with others benefits confidence, and with other’s support, we are more likely to achieve our objectives and goals. The following people skills can all be improved upon:

• Developing rapport
• Assertiveness and negotiation
• Giving and receiving constructive criticism

2. Managing tasks and problem-solving

Inevitably, we encounter challenges on our path to development and growth. Managing our activities and time and solving issues as they surface are paramount.

Here are a few guidelines to help you manage:

• Organize time and tasks effectively.
• Learn fundamental problem-solving strategies.
• Select and apply problem-solving strategies to tackle more complex tasks and challenges.
• Develop planning skills, including identifying priorities, setting achievable targets, and finding practical solutions.
• Acquire skills relevant to project management.
• Familiarize yourself with concepts such as performance indicators and benchmarking.
• Conduct self-audits to assess and enhance your personal competitiveness.

3. Cultivate confidence in your creative abilities

Confidence energizes our performance. Knowing we can perform creatively encourages us to develop novel solutions and be motivated to transform.

Consider the following:

• Understand the fundamentals of how the mind works to enhance your thinking skills.
• Explore a variety of activities to sharpen your creative thinking.
• Embrace the belief that creativity is not limited to artists and performers but is crucial for problem-solving and task completion.
• Learn to ignite the spark of creativity that helps generate innovative ideas when needed.
• Apply creative thinking techniques to enhance your problem-solving and task completion abilities.
• Recognize the role of creative thinking in finding the right ideas at the right time.

To aid you in building your confidence, we have a whole category of articles focused on Optimism and Mindset . Be sure to browse it for confidence-building inspiration.

With new techniques and technology, our understanding of the human brain continues to evolve. Identifying the vital elements involved in learning and connecting with others offers deep insights into how we function and develop as social beings. We handpicked a small but unique selection of books we believe you will enjoy.

1. The Coaching Manual: The Definitive Guide to the Process, Principles and Skills of Personal Coaching – Julie Starr

This insightful book explores and explains the coaching journey from start to finish.

Starr’s book offers a range of free resources and gives clear guidance to support new and existing coaches in providing practical help to their clients.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level – Gay Hendricks

Delving into the “zone of genius” and the “zone of excellence,” Hendricks examines personal growth and our path to personal success.

This valuable book explores how we eliminate the barriers to reaching our goals that arise from false beliefs and fears.

3. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – Brené Brown

Brown, a leading expert on shame, vulnerability, and authenticity, examines how we can engage with the world from a place of worthiness.

Use this book to learn how to build courage and compassion and realize the behaviors, skills, and mindset that lead to personal development.

We have many resources available for fostering personal development and supporting client transformation and growth.

Our free resources include:

• Goal Planning and Achievement Tracker This is a valuable worksheet for capturing and reflecting on weekly goals while tracking emotions that surface.
• Adopt a Growth Mindset Successful change is often accompanied by replacing a fixed mindset with a growth one .
• FIRST Framework Questions Understanding a client’s developmental stage can help offer the most appropriate support for a career change.

More extensive versions of the following tools are available with a subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit© , but they are described briefly below:

• Backward Goal Planning

Setting goals can build confidence and the skills for ongoing personal development.

Backward goal planning helps focus on the end goal, prevent procrastination, and decrease stress by ensuring we have enough time to complete each task.

Try out the following four simple steps:

• Step one – Identify and visualize your end goal.
• Step two – Reflect on and capture the steps required to reach the goal.
• Step three – Focus on each step one by one.
• Step four – Take action and record progress.
• Boosting Motivation by Celebrating Micro Successes

Celebrating the small successes on our journey toward our goals is motivating and confidence building.

Practice the following:

• Step one – Reflect momentarily on the goal you are working toward.
• Step two – Consider each action being taken to reach that goal.
• Step three – Record the completion of each action as a success.
• Step four – Choose how to celebrate each success.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others reach their goals, check out this collection of 17 validated motivation & goal achievement tools for practitioners. Use them to help others turn their dreams into reality by applying the latest science-based behavioral change techniques.

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

These 17 Motivation & Goal Achievement Exercises [PDF] contain all you need to help others set meaningful goals, increase self-drive, and experience greater accomplishment and life satisfaction.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Personal development has a rich and long history. It is underpinned by various psychological theories and remains a vital aspect of creating fulfilling lives inside and outside coaching and counseling.

For many of us, self-improvement, self-awareness, and personal growth are vital aspects of who we are. Coaching can provide a vehicle to help clients along their journey, supporting their sense of autonomy and confidence and highlighting their potential (Cox, 2018).

Working with clients, therefore, requires an open, honest, and supportive relationship. The coach or counselor must believe the client can achieve better results and view them nonjudgmentally as equal partners.

Personal development plans become essential to that relationship and the overall coaching process. They capture areas for development, skills and behaviors required, and goals and objectives to work toward.

Use this article to recognize theoretical elements from psychology that underpin the process and use the skills, guidance, and worksheets to support personal development in clients, helping them remove obstacles along the way.

Ultimately, personal development is a lifelong process that boosts wellbeing and flourishing and creates a richer, more engaging environment for the individual and those around them.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

Personal development is vital, as it enables individuals to enhance various aspects of their lives, including emotional wellbeing, relationships, careers, and overall happiness.

It promotes self-awareness, self-improvement, and personal growth, helping individuals reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives (Passmore, 2021; Starr, 2021).

Personal development is the journey we take to improve ourselves through conscious habits and activities and focusing on the goals that are important to us.

Personal development goals are specific objectives individuals set to improve themselves and their lives. Goals can encompass various areas, such as emotional intelligence, skill development, health, and career advancement, providing direction and motivation for personal growth (Cox, 2018; Starr, 2021).

A personal development plan typically comprises defining the area of development, setting development objectives, identifying behaviors to develop, planning actions for progress, and establishing completion dates. These five stages help individuals clarify their goals and track their progress (Starr, 2021).

• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory . Prentice-Hall.
• Beck, A. T., & Haigh, E. P. (2014). Advances in cognitive therapy and therapy: The generic cognitive model. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology , 10 , 1–24.
• Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond . Guilford Press.
• Cottrell, S. (2015). Skills for success: Personal development and employability . Bloomsbury Academic.
• Cox, E. (2018). The complete handbook of coaching . SAGE.
• Ellis, A. (2000). Can rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) be effectively used with people who have devout beliefs in God and religion? Professional Psychology-Research and Practice , 31 (1), 29–33.
• Erikson, E. H. (1963). Youth: Change and challenge . Basic Books.
• Illeris, K. (2018). An overview of the history of learning theory. European Journal of Education , 53 (1), 86–101.
• Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Ivtzan, I. (2014). Applied positive psychology: Integrated positive practice . SAGE.
• Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personalit y (2nd ed.). Harper & Row.
• Passmore, J. (Ed.). (2021). The coaches’ handbook: The complete practitioner guide for professional coaches . Routledge.
• Piaget, J. (1959): The Psychology of intelligence . Routledge.
• Rose, C. (2018). The personal development group: The students’ guide . Routledge.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2018). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness . Guilford Press.
• Seligman, M. E. (2011). Authentic happiness using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment . Nicholas Brealey.
• Starr, J. (2021). The coaching manual: The definitive guide to the process, principles and skills of personal coaching . Harlow: Pearson Education.
• Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance . Nicholas Brealey.

Share this article:

Article feedback

Let us know your thoughts cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related articles

Personal Development Goals: Helping Your Clients Succeed

In the realm of personal development, individuals often seek to enhance various aspects of their lives, striving for growth, fulfillment, and self-improvement. As coaches and [...]

How to Perform Somatic Coaching: 9 Best Exercises

Our bodies are truly amazing and hold a wellspring of wisdom which, when tapped into, can provide tremendous benefits. Somatic coaching acknowledges the intricate connection [...]

Training in Lifestyle Coaching: 8 Best Certifications and Courses

What makes the Wizard of Oz storyline so compelling? Maybe it’s that we relate to Dorothy’s struggle and her feelings of being stuck, lost, and [...]

Read other articles by their category

• Body & Brain (49)
• Coaching & Application (57)
• Compassion (26)
• Counseling (51)
• Emotional Intelligence (24)
• Gratitude (18)
• Grief & Bereavement (21)
• Happiness & SWB (40)
• Meaning & Values (26)
• Meditation (20)
• Mindfulness (45)
• Motivation & Goals (45)
• Optimism & Mindset (34)
• Positive CBT (28)
• Positive Communication (20)
• Positive Education (47)
• Positive Emotions (32)
• Positive Leadership (18)
• Positive Parenting (4)
• Positive Psychology (33)
• Positive Workplace (37)
• Productivity (16)
• Relationships (46)
• Resilience & Coping (36)
• Self Awareness (21)
• Self Esteem (37)
• Strengths & Virtues (31)
• Stress & Burnout Prevention (34)
• Theory & Books (46)
• Therapy Exercises (37)
• Types of Therapy (64)

• Personal Development
• Sales Training
• Business Training
• Time Management
• Leadership Training
• Book Writing
• Public Speaking
• Live Speaker Training With Brian
• See Brian Speak
• Coaching Programs
• Become a Coach
• Personal Success
• Sales Success
• Business Success
• Leadership Success
• Personal Development Plan Templates for Success

Did you know you can make your dreams and aspirations a reality by focusing on your own individual  personal development plan ?

Your potential is limitless, and investing in personal development is a way to harness your many talents.

Establishing goals for what you want to achieve — where you would like to go in the short term or long term — can improve your personal development.

In this guide, I’ll help you understand what personal development means and its importance, what a  personal development plan  is and why you should make one, and how to write a personal development plan.

I’ll also share with you my personal development plan template to get you started on your path to reach your personal development goals, complete with helpful examples and resources to support you.

What Is a Personal Development Plan (PDP)?

A personal development plan is a guideline for your life and your future success.

Personal development is an ongoing process of improving oneself through conscious habits and activities. It is the pursuit of personal growth to enhance your quality of life and to achieve your dreams and aspirations.

When you create a plan, you start to define the kind of person you want to be, the skills you want to have, and the accomplishments you want to achieve. And then you map out your long-term and short-term goals to realize these aspirations and set timelines for when you want to reach them.

Many people underachieve in their careers because they do not realize the areas of personal development that can help achieve mastery in any field.

Effective leaders focus on continual self-improvement and know there is no substitute for hard work.

When you  practice self-discipline  by setting a goal, making a plan, and working on it every day, you will see personal development and progress within your career.

The Importance of Personal Development

Most of the time, what you think about is what you become. From the moment you wake up until the moment you close your eyes at the end of the day, everything you experience plays a factor in your development.

When you take greater control over your experiences, you can guide your personal development and accelerate toward what you want to become instead of leaving it to chance.

Setting, striving for, and meeting personal development goals opens up a world of new possibilities for you to increase your quality of life.

For example, as a result of creating and following your personal development plan, you may gain more responsibility for work and open up opportunities for higher pay. This growth could qualify you for a better career trajectory to increase your overall happiness, job satisfaction, and ability to provide for the life you want for you and your family.

Focusing on your personal development also gives you better decision-making abilities so you can avoid problems that may have plagued you in the past or are holding you back now.

At the end of the day, personal development helps you create more positivity and  harness the power of positive thoughts , which can transform your life.

When you give time to yourself by focusing on your professional and personal growth, you are better able to achieve  your version of success  because of personal development opportunities.

Personal Development vs Self-Improvement

Recognizing the difference between self-improvement and personal development can be a little tricky.

While they are similar in that they are both very instrumental in achieving your goals and improving yourself, there are key differences between a self-improvement plan and your own personal development plan.

Personal development is the work you are putting in to transform yourself on a daily basis. It’s the efforts you’re making to advance in your work, lifestyle, attitude, physique, and sociability.

Setting personal and professional development goals and creating a plan helps you take full advantage of any opportunity that may come your way and make the most of your potential.

Self-improvement is an inner transformation. It is a self-motivated study to improve one’s character, status, or knowledge by their own efforts.

Self-improvement is a lifelong process  of constantly searching for ways to change your habits so you can reach your fullest potential.

The specific efforts you put into personal development lead to self-improvement.

Start Achieving All of Your Goals Today! Download my FREE Personal Development Plan Template

The 7 Categories of Personal Development

Focusing on personal development categories such as personal skills, personal growth, and  personal power  can create habits for personal improvement.

Personal growth is founded on education and skill. Through education and experience, you increase your skill level and your ability to succeed in your field.

There are seven main categories of personal development.

Personal Skills

Personal skills can be ones you were born with as well as those you gain through deliberate practice. They’re often referred to as soft skills.

Examples of personal skills are decision-making, teamwork, organization, and communication.

If you’re looking to develop skills at work, try working on your personal skills. The highest-paid, top individuals in their field are the ones who focus on growing their personal skills.

Knowing what areas you excel in and which need development is very useful in your personal and professional life.

Personal Growth

Having a personal growth plan is one of the first steps toward bettering yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone.

Humans and the human mind are constantly evolving. Think about it: you are not the same person you were a year ago. You’ve learned more, grown in many different ways, and have experienced more life events to further shape your personality, beliefs, and world outlook.

To experience personal development and have a growth mindset, strive to be a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday.

Personal Power

Personal power is the authority others believe you to have in certain situations and is fueled by your contacts, knowledge, and financial status.

Developing an ever-widening circle of contacts, seeking to learn more, and growing financially increases the number of doors that others will leave open for you to step into.

Expanding your network, knowledge base and financial status will also allow you to help others do the same, further increasing your  personal power  and opportunities for personal development and growth.

Personal Improvement

Personal improvement stems from good work habits and having a positive mental attitude.

Thinking before you act is critical to developing a strong amount of personal improvement. To help you think first, try to set priorities on a list and consider the likely consequences before beginning.

Working on personal improvement and generating a positive mental attitude will also reduce the amount of time that it takes you to achieve your goals.

Personal Empowerment

Personal empowerment is similar to Personal Power, except empowerment is the power to reflect what you see within yourself, instead of how others view you.

Promoting a positive image and adopting creativity within your daily life can speed up the time it takes to achieve personal empowerment and your goals.

To help you increase your personal empowerment, consider looking for new, creative ways to finish a project in a faster, easier or cheaper way without compromising the end result.

Personal Analysis

It is very important to be conscious of areas in which you are naturally gifted as well as analyze areas in which you need improvement. This is called personal analysis.

Being truthful about where you currently stand is the first step to moving forward. You should be constantly evaluating where you are when achieving your goals and ambitions.

Personal Objectives

Ambition goes to waste when there are no clear goals in sight. Developing clear direction for short-term and long-term goals is a pivotal step in actually accomplishing them and growing as a person.

Having a set plan will help you have a clear understanding of which strategies are necessary to reach your desired destination.

Why Make a Personal Development Plan?

The reason you need to create a personal development plan is that making a plan will help guide you to better decision-making and remind you of where you want to go.

In other words, good preparation increases the probability of success and decreases the risk of things going wrong along the way.

Creating a plan for personal development helps you get a better sense of control over your life and will make you better prepared for whatever comes your way.

Consider these benefits of having one:

• It brings your vision to reality.
• It ensures you take appropriate and logically planned action.
• It helps you improve your  time management skills  so you can achieve your goals.
• It’s a plan to keep track of progress, which serves to motivate you when you want to give up.
• It’s been proven to reduce stress, improve balance in life, and increase self-confidence.

Developing your personal development plans and goals for work can make the difference between success and failure. Creating a self-growth plan for your personal life can mean the difference between life-long happiness and regret.

Skills & Objectives

The objectives of personal development are continuous personal growth, increased potential for success, and capitalizing on potential opportunities.

You can practice your personal development skills by setting aside time for the important people in your life, performing action exercises that force you to perform at the highest level, and studying growth performances to help ensure you continue to climb the ladder of success.

An action plan has to include measurable objectives so you know the exact steps it will take to reach your goals. Objectives break your larger personal goals into bite-sized pieces so you can know where you are headed and check off your progress along the way.

There are no limits except for the limits you place on yourself with your thinking.

Commit yourself to a life of constant learning. Even if you are at the top of your field, there is always something to learn.

Once you have mastered a new skill, move on to learning another one. Constantly learning new skills keeps your mind fresh and active and opens doors that would otherwise be closed to you.

You will become unstoppable and you will see your entire future open up in front of you if you live a goal and growth-oriented life.

How to Set Personal Development Goals

Before you can set up a plan, you need to do some self-reflection and answer personal goal questions.

A few questions you should develop before laying out an idea for a specific plan of action are:

• What do I want to make out of my life?
• What are my goals and ambitions?
• What is currently standing in my way of achieving these goals?

After answering those questions, you can create a personal plan that contains a few key components.

The key components you should focus on are having a specific outcome that you are constantly working towards, planning and paving a path towards achieving it, being mindful of the obstacles, and understanding the bigger motivation behind your actions.

When developing a personal development plan for work, you should focus on SMART goals. SMART stands for “Specific”, “Measurable”, “Achievable”, “Relevant”, and “Time-Bound.”

By following this easy-to-remember acronym when goal setting, you can improve both your personal and professional life:

• Specific:  Write goals that are detailed and clear instead of broad and general.
• Measurable:  Set milestones that will let you know you are achieving your goal.
• Achievable:  Make goals that are challenging yet can realistically be achieved.
• Relevant:  Align your goals with your personal self-improvement plan.
• Time-Bound:  Pick an end date by which you want to achieve your goal.

Set Goals for Professional Life

To make progress that you can see and track in your professional life, you need to document a detailed plan of action for your personal development.

Some examples include answering the following questions:

• What do I want to learn?
• What do I have to do?
• What support and resources will I need?
• How will I measure success?

Be as specific with your answers as possible. The more precise, the easier it is to track your progress.

Seeing how far you have come and how your hard work is paying off will give you a boost of confidence and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Some examples of personal development goals for work include the Golden Hour and the 21-Day Mental Diet.

The Golden Hour Rule

The  Golden Hour Rule  steers the trajectory of your day.

Beginning your day early and investing your first hour in yourself will make a tremendous difference in the way you feel, and you will begin to see positive results in your day.

You will begin to see yourself in a more positive light and improve on your self-awareness and personal development.

The 21-Day Mental Diet

The  21-Day Mental Diet  personal leadership plan example means waking up early and investing at least the first two hours of your day in yourself.

With this extra time, set clear goals you can work to achieve in the workplace. This can improve your productivity and efficiency to help you get that promotion or earn a raise.

Your goals may also include education. You need to learn more to earn more.

Try setting a goal to read something educational, motivational, or inspirational every day before you go to work.

Set Goals in Your Daily Life

Outside of the workspace, it’s important to focus on some personal goals as well. Similar to your work plan, your personal plan requires you to focus on key points to achieve your goals.

Here are some sample questions to ask yourself:

• What are the important goals that you want to achieve?
• When is your set deadline?
• What are your biggest strengths?
• Who or what are your biggest threats?

There are several aspects of personal development disciplines that will make achieving success possible if developed correctly.

A few of these disciplines include goal setting, planning and organizing, and concentrating on high-value activities.

Goal Setting

Goal setting can be done in the early morning and take only a few minutes of your day.

It can be as simple as purchasing a spiral notebook and writing out your ten goals at the beginning of each day. This will program them deep into your subconscious mind and help you actually follow through on accomplishing them.

Planning Your Day

Planning and organizing at the end of the day can help you better prepare for the coming day.

When you plan out your day, put it down on paper, you can begin to visualize your important tasks and make sure you are working to complete them throughout the day.

Concentrating On Your High-Value Activities

High-value activities are the things you choose to do throughout the day that will give you the biggest return on your efforts to get you closer to your goals.

Concentrating on your high-value activities will help keep you focused and contribute to your success as much as any other discipline you can develop.

Promoting the highest value activities will make a powerful difference in how quickly you achieve them and the goals they relate to.

Personal Development Plan Template

Creating a plan for personal development will help you get a better sense of control over your life and your goals…and it doesn’t have to be a daunting task!

Follow this template to get started and achieve your goals.

There are six core steps in this template that will help you take action and measure your progress.

Step 1: Set Your Goals

Write a list of the top 10 most important goals you would like to achieve. I encourage you to really write them down somewhere — on paper or on your computer — instead of just keeping them in your head.

People who write their goals and have a clear plan are 30% more likely to achieve their goals.

Search deep within yourself and identify the things you really want out of life. Do not be hindered by thoughts of roadblocks that may get in your way. Open yourself up to all the possibilities that would make you truly happy in life.

These are life goals. Life goals are meant to be challenging, so they may seem huge, overwhelming, or even scary. But that’s why they will be broken down into digestible and manageable smaller goals.

For example, providing for your family is an important long-term goal, but figuring out the steps to get there is the challenge. Your smaller personal development objectives will help you identify those steps so you have a clear road map to follow.

With each of the 10 goals you identify, also define your “why:” Why do you want to achieve this goal? What will it mean for your personal life, your career, your mental health or, your loved ones?

Knowing your why will help set you up for success. It will keep you motivated to continue progressing forward until you have achieved what you want to.

Step 2: Prioritize Your Goals

Once you have identified your top 10 goals, write which of those 10 is the most important to you and why.

Starting with your highest priority goal, identify the short-term goals and steps that are needed to achieve your long-term goals.

What needs to happen today so you can move on to the next movetomorrow?

This may require some research on your part, depending on your goal.

For example, say your goal is to become a leader in your field. Some of the short-term goals you will prioritize to reach this personal leadership plan example may include the following:

• Choose a topic or niche in your industry that you want to specialize in.
• Learn everything you can about the issue by talking to people in your industry, reading about your topic, attending seminars and webinars, and so on.
• Educate others by writing regular blog posts.
• Start a podcast and offer valuable information.
• Give interviews on podcasts, local radio and TV stations, and news outlets.
• Write a book  and get it published.
• Become a public speaker  at industry conferences or hold your own conference.

Step 3: Create a Timeline for Achieving Your Goals

Setting goals and deadlines in your process is crucial. Without them, your goals can get lost in the everyday chaos of life or forgotten completely.

Write down a specific timeline for achieving each of your goals, but be realistic in your timing and know the likelihood ahead of time of achieving your goal within a certain timeline to avoid discouragement.

While you may want to become debt-free by next year, you will first need to do what is necessary to earn more income or reduce your expenses. This could involve getting more education, finding a better job, or making major life changes, which could take more than 365 days.

Once you assign a due date to each of your short-term goals,  tackle the hardest goal first . This will help you realize you can actually achieve your goals faster and give you the motivation you need to propel yourself forward.

If you’re unsure of the timeline you should set for accomplishing your goals, speaking to other people who have achieved the goal you are striving for will help you set a realistic deadline.

Conducting online research could also help in defining a timeline to accomplish your goals.

Knowing that it takes four to five years to earn a Ph.D. in business lets you know how long it will likely take you. If you can only attend school part-time, you know it will take longer, perhaps twice as long.

Step 4: Analyze Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Write down your strengths and weaknesses. Remember that skills like perseverance, positive attitude, and creativity are strengths and weaknesses as much as educational level, experience, and having a strong network of professional contacts.

Focus on the attributes that are needed to achieve your goal. Then, write how your strengths can help you achieve this goal and how you plan to overcome those weaknesses.

Use a SWOT analysis to organize your thoughts and develop a strong strategy for achieving your goal. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Ask yourself questions similar to these to help you develop insights for each part of a SWOT analysis:

• What sets you apart from your peers?
• What is your competitive advantage?
• What do others regularly praise you for?
• What do people ask you to help them with?
• What parts of yourself are you confident about?
• What values are important to you?
• What do you usually avoid doing because you don’t think you can?
• What kind of tasks do you procrastinate?
• Where are you lacking in skills, experience, or education?
• What resources do you lack?
• What areas do you feel you need improvement?
• What gets in the way of your work performance or relationships with others?

Opportunities

• What technology can help you achieve your goal?
• What promotions or financial incentives are available at work?
• Who can help you reach your goal?
• What changes are happening or are projected to happen in your industry or personal life?
• What conferences, classes, or networking events are available to you?
• What are your competitors failing at that you can learn from and improve on?
• What obstacles do you face that may hinder your progress?
• Which of your weaknesses could lead to threats?
• Who is trying to achieve the same goal that may get in your way?

Step 5: Write an Action Plan

Write actions that you need to take to achieve your goal. These can be things you need to add to your daily routine as well as things you need to eliminate from it to  achieve the success in life  that you are looking for.

Doing this will help you to achieve each goal faster.

Whether you use a notebook or your computer, just make sure you’re also physically writing down your plan so you can see it every day and hold yourself accountable.

Step 6: Measure Your Progress

The final step in your personal development plan template is to mark your progress.

Write down what has been working well, what you have accomplished, what you still need to improve, and what skills or knowledge you have gained along the way.

People who set up a system to report on their goals weekly achieve 40% more than people who do not.

To help you in this final step, consider using a tracker to take notes, measure progress, and be analytical about what works and what does not.

Sometimes it is necessary to change courses midstream or add a step that you were not initially aware of. That doesn’t mean you should abandon your goal out of discouragement. It just means you need to adapt, and this is where a tracker can help you determine if it’s time to pivot.

Remember it’s okay to be flexible. Doing so will allow you to make changes when needed that will propel you toward your goal more efficiently.

This could be a good opportunity to use another piece of data about how people who write things down/journal are much more likely to be successful.

Personal Development Courses and Programs

Personal development courses, coaches, and programs can also help you hit your goals.

A personal development program accompanied by a personal development coach helps to keep you disciplined and moving forward.

If you are looking to transform your life, check out these courses and programs that include all of my knowledge, distilled into powerful lessons to help you achieve immediate success in your own life. They will teach you how to stop worrying and stressing out and how to take control of your life, forever.

Power Of Personal Achievement

Learn the right way to visualize your ideal future. This course will teach you how to set your goals and methodically achieve them with more efficiency than ever before.

This program will teach you how to ditch the negative emotions that have been hindering your success as well as how to redirect your energy and resources towards your personal mission.

The Science Of Self-Confidence

In this course, you’ll learn just about everything I’ve learned about self-confidence during the past four decades.

I reveal the secret of the four Cs that teach you how to escape the endless loop of failure. You will find your true self and, as a result, finally feel truly confident.

Maximum Productivity

This course will equip you with the skills to discover your special calling. You will learn everything you need to know how to take the shortest, fastest route possible to your destination.

Ultimate success is achievable when you know how to dramatically improve your productivity.

Create Your Personal Development Plan Today

Don’t wait to start improving your life.

Follow a personal development plan for work and your personal life or use a template to start accomplishing your goals and improving your life.

For the easiest way to get started, download my free  Personal Development Plan Template  to organize your goals over the next few months and years and optimize your success.

« Previous Post How to Sell and Become a Master Salesperson Next Post » How to Write an Author Bio (Examples Included)

About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

• Most Recent
• The Art of Business Success: A Blueprint for Entrepreneurs
• How to Develop a Habit That Will Last
• How to Write an Author Bio (Examples Included)
• How to Sell and Become a Master Salesperson
• Free Webinar: How To Write a Book and Become a Published Author
• Free Video Series: 3-Part Sales Mastery Training Series
• Free Assessment: The Confidence Factor
• Free Assessment: Discovering Your Talents

Browse Categories

• Financial Success

Follow Brian & Join the Discussion

• Free Resources
• Best Sellers
• Knowledge Base
• Shipping & Returns
• Privacy Policy
• About Brian
• Brian Recommends

Your Privacy is Guaranteed. We will never give, lease or sell your personal information. Period!

© Copyright 2001-2024 Brian Tracy International. All Rights Reserved.

Quick Links

Get in touch.

Unlock the Latest Knowledge that Can You Help You Achieve More in Life with More Confidence

Print and Digital Options Available

Maximize Your Potential With a Personal Development Plan

Personal development fosters individual growth while enhancing skills and self-awareness. It can facilitate adaptability to life’s changes, maximize your potential and contribute to fulfilling your personal and professional aspirations. The result can lead to a more enriched and purposeful life. But maximizing your potential requires a sound and strategic approach, which is where creating a solid personal development plan and template can assist you.

What is a personal development plan? 

A personal development plan (PDP) provides a structured and strategic approach to reaching your personal goals. It provides you with an opportunity for self-assessment, making the planning process itself an opportunity to better understand your drives, goals and needs.

Moreover, PDPs are actionable. By setting goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (that is, SMART goals), you develop a proactive means toward personal growth. And paying careful attention to your plan throughout the process gives you the opportunity to assess your success.

Here are eight aspects of personal development to keep in mind while creating your individualized plan:

• Self-awareness and reflection: Discover your true self with greater understanding of your strengths and weaknesses as well as values, drives and goals.
• Skill acquisition and knowledge: Commit to lifelong learning to gain new knowledge and develop new skills and enhance existing ones for greater empowerment and satisfaction.
• Emotional and mental health: Build resilience while managing stress and developing emotional intelligence .
• Physical health: Emphasis on improving health, including a better diet, proper sleep, exercise and other self-care regimens to enhance overall well-being.
• Relationships: Build and expand your personal network through development and better communication skills and empathy.
• Financial literacy : Relieve unnecessary stress and burdens with a personalized money management plan.
• Time management and productivity : The best time management strategies will increase your productivity while freeing up personal time.
• Spiritual growth: Noted speaker Jim Rohn considered spiritual growth key to personal development , whether that’s through religion, meditation or a connection to nature and the universe.

By identifying these aspects of overall well-being, you can embark on a personal development plan suited to your individual goals and needs.

What are the benefits of a personal development plan?

The decision to create a PDP is your first step toward achieving your goals. It shows a commitment to inner growth and a desire to lead a happier and more fulfilling life. As you dive in, you will develop a clearer understanding of yourself. This clarity fosters self-awareness through introspection. Your plan is not a “wish list” but rather a process of designing a more purposeful existence.

Your plan also provides clarity in making decisions that align with your values and goals. This calibration of your inner and outer worlds enhances personal motivation with a renewed sense of purpose. Monitoring your growth in desired areas of personal development likewise builds resilience as you see yourself more confidently clearing hurdles and navigating setbacks.

Furthermore, a professional development plan emphasizes continuous learning. This augments your adaptability skills so that perceived threats seem more like opportunities. You develop a growth mindset that builds your character and makes you more attractive to others, both personally and professionally. Every task becomes easier as you build a more enriched, empowered and purposeful life.

How do I create a personal development plan?

Crafting a PDP requires commitment. You must be willing to devote quiet time to deep introspection of who you are and who you want to become. With this understanding, you can set specific goals tailored to your personal growth. Each goal should be paired with strategic actions that are stepping stones toward your self-actualization.

It sounds like a lot to take on—but embarking on this journey does not need to be difficult. A personal development plan template provides structure, acting as a roadmap to guide you one step at a time on your lifelong journey.

Use this personal development plan template to get started.

Let’s begin with a personal development plan example to use as your own template.

1. Create a vision statement

Think deeply about what you aspire to and what inspires you. Make a list in multiple columns that addresses where you want to go and what truly motivates you on a daily basis. Then, narrow that list down, crossing off items where desire and motivation don’t align. Start from what remains to develop your personal growth vision statement.

2. Commit to a deep self-assessment

Now that you have brought into alignment what you want to achieve and what motivates you to get there, assess yourself. Identify your personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats—that is, perform a personal SWOT analysis . Just as these analyses help businesses assess their standing, they also help individuals in developing a plan for personal development.

3. Set SMART goals

Next, set personal development goals for yourself. But remember: Goals are not wishes or dreams. Setting goals for personal development is simple, but it requires discipline. Set your personal goals with the SMART goal strategy in mind—determine goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. To facilitate the ease and success of this stage, consider using a goal-setting worksheet .

4. Determine action steps

Now that you know where you want to go, the challenge lies in getting there. Determine the course of action to achieve what you desire. Some personal development goals may only need a few action steps. Others may require more. The point here is to map out the actions you need to take to achieve your personal goals. Set realistic deadlines that help keep you on track, adhere to them and adjust only when necessary.

5. Use all available resources

Putting step 4 of your personal development plan into action may be the most difficult. Thankfully, you do not need to attempt it without guidance. Experts can assist you. Take time to use available resources such as personal development courses and personal growth books . These proven experts will do more than guide you with tools and strategies; they will inspire you during your growth journey.

6. Track your progress

Tracking your personal development progress is vital to your plan. If you used a SMART goal worksheet to set deadlines, review the tasks regularly to ensure you are staying on track while also setting future goals. You may consider keeping a daily journal. If you choose this method, consider expressing gratitude in your journal, which can provide personal development benefits.

7. Review and adjust

Tracking your daily progress also offers you the opportunity to review and adjust your personal development plan. Go back and look at your worksheet and journal each week with time set aside for a monthly review. If you did not meet your goals, don’t be hard on yourself. You may simply have aimed too high starting out. Adjust your goals and timelines accordingly. And when goals are met, set new ones in incremental steps that adhere to the SMART goal-setting approach.

Ready to maximize your potential but still want help creating your personal development plan? The Win the Day Accelerator, hosted by James Whittaker, can help! The 8-part program is designed to unlock your full potential and help you achieve extraordinary results, personally and professionally.

Photo by mimagephotography/Shutterstock.com

Bryan Lindenberger

Bryan enjoys the digital space where arts and technology meet. As a writer, he has worked in education, health and wellbeing, and manufacturing. He also assists smaller businesses in web development including accessibility and content development. In his free time, he hikes trails in central Florida.

5473 Blair Road, Suite 100 PMB 30053 Dallas, TX 75231

Copyright © 2024 SUCCESS Magazine. All rights reserved.

How it works

Transform your enterprise with the scalable mindsets, skills, & behavior change that drive performance.

Explore how BetterUp connects to your core business systems.

We pair AI with the latest in human-centered coaching to drive powerful, lasting learning and behavior change.

Build leaders that accelerate team performance and engagement.

Unlock performance potential at scale with AI-powered curated growth journeys.

Build resilience, well-being and agility to drive performance across your entire enterprise.

Transform your business, starting with your sales leaders.

Unlock business impact from the top with executive coaching.

Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Accelerate the performance and potential of your agencies and employees.

See how innovative organizations use BetterUp to build a thriving workforce.

Discover how BetterUp measurably impacts key business outcomes for organizations like yours.

A demo is the first step to transforming your business. Meet with us to develop a plan for attaining your goals.

• What is coaching?

Learn how 1:1 coaching works, who its for, and if it's right for you.

Accelerate your personal and professional growth with the expert guidance of a BetterUp Coach.

Types of Coaching

Navigate career transitions, accelerate your professional growth, and achieve your career goals with expert coaching.

Enhance your communication skills for better personal and professional relationships, with tailored coaching that focuses on your needs.

Find balance, resilience, and well-being in all areas of your life with holistic coaching designed to empower you.

Discover your perfect match : Take our 5-minute assessment and let us pair you with one of our top Coaches tailored just for you.

Research, expert insights, and resources to develop courageous leaders within your organization.

Best practices, research, and tools to fuel individual and business growth.

View on-demand BetterUp events and learn about upcoming live discussions.

The latest insights and ideas for building a high-performing workplace.

• BetterUp Briefing

The online magazine that helps you understand tomorrow's workforce trends, today.

Innovative research featured in peer-reviewed journals, press, and more.

Founded in 2022 to deepen the understanding of the intersection of well-being, purpose, and performance

We're on a mission to help everyone live with clarity, purpose, and passion.

Join us and create impactful change.

Read the buzz about BetterUp.

Meet the leadership that's passionate about empowering your workforce.

For Business

For Individuals

Are you reaching your full potential? A guide to personal development

Jump to section

What is personal development?

5 areas of personal development, the benefits of personal development, 6 steps to developing a personal development plan, how personalized development can help.

I’m no stranger to feeling stuck. There are days I wake up and just go through the daily motions. I make coffee then sit down at my computer for a day of work. I’ll usually work out, walk the dogs, make dinner. Then, read, watch a show, go to bed. The next day? Wake up and do it all over again. 

Especially at the height of the pandemic, it started to feel like vicious monotony. Our lives seemingly stalled in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It feels like dreams, goals, and ambitions are buried in thick molasses or honey at the back of our brains. And even as we navigate this new normal , that “stuck” feeling might be stuck with us. 

The good news? You’re not alone — and personal development is here to help. 

I embarked on an intentional personal development journey well before I knew what it meant. I knew I wanted to see personal growth — and had reached a point in my life where I needed real change .

At BetterUp, personal development comes to life in what we call an Inner Work® practice . Inner Work® is deep work, a practice that isn’t always visible to the outside eye. But with the right personal development toolkit, you can build a lifelong practice of Inner Work® . 

My own personal growth journey has seen its series of ups and downs, failures and successes. Any personal development journey is a lifelong commitment, not a sprint or achievable task. It will weather bumps and roadblocks but it can also thrive in other areas of your life. 

If you’re looking for ways to up your personal development game, we’re here to help. 

It’s certainly not as easy as it sounds. Every person is unique. So, it only makes sense that personal development will look different for everyone. But what does it actually mean? 

Personal development is looking inward and focusing on ways to better yourself. Personal development increases your self-awareness, your self-esteem, increases your skills, and fulfills your aspirations.  

At BetterUp, we’re big believers in the practice of Inner Work®. In many ways, personal development is a form of Inner Work® . It is the act of looking inward to achieve a purpose or result, especially in the pursuit of clarity, purpose, and passion in life. 

Personal development is much larger than just career development or self-development. It encompasses all aspects of your life where you’d like to see personal growth — and it doesn’t discriminate on where it shows up for you. 

When it comes to personal development, it’s hard to not reference Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, your basic needs need to be fulfilled in order to reach your fullest potential. In other words. To reach self-actualization means we’re reaching the highest levels of self-awareness , self-confidence , personal growth, and self-realization. 

Much like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we see five different areas of personal development. Different personal development goals can fall into different categories. 

Mental 

Exercising your brain and staying mentally fit is critical to personal development. At BetterUp, this comes to life in a few ways: coaching, learning opportunities , and career growth. For example, right now, I’m taking a creative writing course to help keep my mental creative muscles going strong. (And BetterUp foots the bill as part of our learning stipend.) 

Mental development can be anything from workshops, training sessions , or even just rest. Rest is just as (if not more) important than mental exercise. And as your mental fitness improves , so does your resiliency, innovation, and self-awareness. 

Social 

Social connections and relationships are also a must-have for any personal development. After all, self-improvement is not a solitary pursuit. Humans are social creatures — we need that connection to learn and grow. And from social connections, we gain important skills. Like communication skills , problem-solving, relationship-building, and the ability to receive (and give) feedback. We also learn from those around us and their experiences. 

Spiritual 

Personal growth and development — whether you’re religious or not — can come through in spirituality. It’s important to recognize that religion and spirituality are not synonymous. In fact, far from it. 

Spirituality means you’re investing in a deeper understanding of your own self in the world around you. It helps you get to know yourself and uncover your values. And in the context of Inner Work®, the spiritual personal development tool can bring greater awareness to self and change. 

Emotional 

Emotional personal development often goes hand-in-hand with emotional intelligence . At its simplest, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand feelings. Beyond feelings, it’s understanding how those feelings shape our thoughts and actions. 

Any number of experiences lends itself to emotional personal development. And those experiences can help you in your pursuit of self-improvement. Take your own Inner Work® journey so far. What experiences have shaped you into who you are today? When you reflect on your journey, what have you learned? 

If you’re looking back at your journey and identifying the growth, it’s likely you’ve fostered a sense of emotional development along the way. This requires emotional intelligence to understand what role your feelings and thoughts played. 

Physical 

A healthy body nourishes a healthy mind. There’s an intrinsic link between your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. 

This aspect of personal development is focused on physical health — like nutrition, sleep, exercise, and movement. When your physical self is nourished, it’s likely your mind is also reaping those benefits. Consider ways you can build this area of personal development and take note of how your body and your mind feel. 

There are plenty of benefits to personal development. Personal growth isn’t easy but the benefits will make the journey worthwhile. 

My friend at Google has worked with a BetterUp coach for the last year. In her own personal development journey, she's shared why working with a coach has transformed her personal growth journey. 

"My experience with BetterUp has transcended the professional workplace. My coach knows me on a personal level, which allows for her to help me set boundaries, manage expectations, and receive feedback. Ultimately, it's helped me reach my biggest goal of having a work-life balance."   A Google employee, BetterUp Member 

• Increased self-awareness and self-esteem. Personal growth requires looking inward at your own thoughts, feelings, habits, and reactions. It requires attentiveness — and awareness — to who you are as a person in a present state. But it also challenges you to look to the future to where you want to go. By investing in yourself, you’re increasing your self-awareness and by default, self-esteem . 
• Increased mental fitness. Becoming mentally fit requires work. And many aspects of personal development aid in building strong mental fitness. With increased mental fitness, you’ll see a ripple effect of positive benefits. We’ve gathered data around the impact of mental fitness . People with strong mental fitness are more productive, are less likely to experience mental illness, and are more creative and innovative. 
• Greater resilience. With personal development, you gain greater resilience . This is another positive symptom of strong mental fitness, too. Investing in your personal growth means investing in your ability to bounce back after rough patches. 
• More knowledge and learned skills. Oftentimes, personal development comes with more knowledge and learned skills. This can come to life in different ways. For example, you may take courses in digital marketing that help you gain the skills you need to further your career development. Or, you may sign up for art or pottery classes, which help you gain skills in entirely different areas of your life. 
• Improved personal and professional relationships. Another personal development benefit is improved personal and professional relationships . This is an area that flourishes when you invest in your personal growth, especially in emotional and social aspects. 

11 personal development skills to work on

If you’re not sure where to start, consider working with a coach . Personalized coaching can help serve as your guide while you’re building your roadmap to self-actualization. 

Your coach will work one-on-one with you to help identify key skills to work on catered to your own experience. You can start by taking the Whole Person Assessment  to help assess where your strengths and areas of opportunity lie. 

We’ve identified some common areas of self-improvement and personal development you may consider investing in: 

• Communication and interpersonal skills 
• Problem-solving 
• Cognitive agility and adaptability 
• Self-compassion, self-care , and self-reflection 
• Conflict and conflict resolution  
• Navigating change and uncertainty 
• Future-mindedness  
• Organizational skills 
• Growth mindset 
• Teamwork and collaboration  
• Self-awareness 

Like any other goal, it’s important to put together a plan. By assembling your personal development plan with some structure, you’re more likely to achieve your goals. 

1. Identify areas where you’d like to improve 

This first step will likely require some Inner Work®. Take a minute to reflect on where you are right now. What are your strengths? In what areas do you want to focus? What growth and development do you want to see in yourself? 

If you’ve taken the Whole Person Assessment, this can help as a useful tool. Once you’ve reflected on your personal goals , identify the areas where you’d like to improve . 

2. Work with a coach or mentor to assemble a plan 

Even if it's your own personal development plan, you don’t have to do it alone. Lean on support systems — like life coaches or mentors — to help frame a plan. With the right structure in place (and feedback along the way), you’ll be better equipped to put the plan into action. 

3. Structure your personal development goals  

Stick to a routine — and build consistency. Start to examine your day-to-day and try to find ways to either build habits or stack new habits onto existing ones. 

In this last year, I wanted to build strength training into my fitness routine. The kicker? I never use weights. I decided to put a yoga mat with weights next to my running shoes. Every time I go for a run, I have to think about those weights sitting next to my shoes. It helps to remind myself to do a quick 5-minute exercise with some dumbbells.  

4. Find an accountability buddy 

Sometimes, having someone holding you accountable makes all the difference. If you and a friend are both setting intentions and goals, consider ways you can support one another. 

Every new hire at BetterUp gets a stack of great books during the onboarding process. My teammate reached out today to see if we could create an accountability plan . We’re each holding each other to 100 pages of reading a week. 

5. Be honest and aware of your progress 

Your personal development plan requires integrity. Be honest with yourself about your growth and progress. This also requires a level of self-awareness. You can also gather feedback from friends, family, and colleagues to help gather insight on how you’re progressing in your goals, too. 

6. Factor personal development into your mental fitness plan 

How does personal development factor into your mental fitness plan? Consider ways you can work with your coach on building aspects of personal development into your overall mental fitness. 

Personal development is just that: it’s personal. 

Every human is different. If our society cracked the nut on personal development, every self-help book would help everyone. Or every learning process would benefit every student. 

But we know from our life experiences that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution to anything when it comes to human nature. 

It’s important to lean on personalized support like coaching to help craft a catered plan that works for you. You won’t have the same needs, strengths, opportunities, and skills as your neighbor. So why would your personal development plan be the same? 

Push yourself outside of your comfort zone. By doing so, you'll be on the path to reaching your full potential .

While self-actualization and Inner Work® is a lifelong process, your personal development goals shouldn't be daunting. Start small — like building a new skill or even investing in work-life balance . By doing so, you'll set yourself up for success in all areas of your life.

If you're ready to make a change to improve the quality of your life, consider how personal and professional development coaching can help. With help from BetterUp, you can awaken your full potential .

Transform your life

Make meaningful changes and become the best version of yourself. BetterUp's professional Coaches are here to support your personal growth journey.

Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

4 ways to improve emotional intelligence within your team

Why self-management is key to success and how to improve yours, building resilience part 6: what is self-efficacy, developing emotional intelligence skills for lasting success, what is self-efficacy definition and 7 ways to improve it, what is emotional intelligence and why is it important, what self-love truly means and ways to cultivate it, why am i so easily overwhelmed causes and useful techniques, self-concept: what is it, and can it change, similar articles, what do you do if you hate your job try these 9 tactics, 20 personal values examples to help you find your own, reaching your full potential isn't out of reach: 10 tips to get moving, use the wheel of life® tool to achieve better balance, 20 books for personal growth in 2024, reinventing yourself: 10 ways to realize your full potential, own your personal development: self-improvement goals that motivate, using mindset coaching for lasting personal growth, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702

• Platform Overview
• Integrations
• Powered by AI
• BetterUp Lead
• BetterUp Manage™
• BetterUp Care™
• Sales Performance
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Case Studies
• Why BetterUp?
• About Coaching
• Find your Coach
• Career Coaching
• Communication Coaching
• Life Coaching
• News and Press
• Leadership Team
• Become a BetterUp Coach
• BetterUp Labs
• Center for Purpose & Performance
• Leadership Training
• Business Coaching
• Contact Support
• Contact Sales
• Privacy Policy
• Acceptable Use Policy
• Trust & Security
• Cookie Preferences

Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Developmental Psychology — Personal Development Planning

Essays on Personal Development Planning

Personal development planning (PDP) is an essential process that involves setting goals, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and creating a plan to improve oneself. Writing an essay on personal development planning can help individuals reflect on their own goals and aspirations, and gain a better understanding of the steps needed to achieve them. Here are some essay topics on personal development planning:

• The importance of setting personal development goals
• Strategies for creating a successful personal development plan
• The role of self-awareness in personal development planning
• Setting & Achieving Academic Goals: Strategies & Examples
• Overcoming obstacles in personal development planning
• The impact of personal development planning on career success
• The relationship between personal development planning and mental well-being
• The influence of personal development planning on relationships
• The benefits of mentorship in personal development planning
• The role of resilience in personal development planning
• The connection between personal development planning and time management
• Mindful Career Planning: The Path to Success and Fulfillment
• The impact of personal development planning on academic success
• The influence of personal development planning on financial well-being
• The connection between personal development planning and physical health
• The role of emotional intelligence in personal development planning
• The impact of personal development planning on leadership skills
• The importance of accountability in personal development planning
• The role of self-reflection in personal development planning
• The influence of personal development planning on personal fulfillment
• The connection between personal development planning and goal attainment
• The impact of personal development planning on overall life satisfaction

When choosing a topic for a personal development planning essay, it is important to consider one's own interests and experiences. Reflecting on personal experiences and areas of improvement can help in choosing a meaningful and relevant topic. Additionally, considering the potential impact of the topic on one's own life and the lives of others can be a helpful factor in topic selection.

Personal development planning is a crucial aspect of self-improvement and goal attainment. Writing an essay on personal development planning can provide individuals with the opportunity to reflect on their own goals and aspirations, and gain a deeper understanding of the steps needed to achieve them. By choosing a relevant and meaningful topic, individuals can explore the various aspects of personal development planning and its impact on their lives and the lives of others.

The Importance of Continuing Academic Success

My life in my mandala, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

My Short Term Goals

Planning your personal development: how i have managed to develop myself, achieving personal and professional development, the key parts of planning for personal development, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Personal Development Planning: a Modern Approach to Individual Growth

Why the university 101 syllabus is important, analysis of the boy who harnessed the wind notes by william kamkwamba, my personal leadership development plan, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

Personal Development Journey: Lessons from Sports

Clifton strengths reflection, personal development journey: navigating academics, happiness is a choice, personal development journey: practices learned in counseling, my roots of optimism, leadership development plan example, personal narrative: my fear of failure, the last lecture case study, reflection of an american childhood, the importance of chores, my reflection of my personal creativity, my ideal future, the importance of the helping relationship, personal statement: my interest in psychology, the darkest path summary, my reflection of my practicum experience, relevant topics.

• Birth Order
• Childhood Development
• Cognitive Development
• Adolescence
• Growth Mindset
• Procrastination

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Personal development - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

An essay on personal development can focus on the journey of self-improvement and growth. It can discuss strategies for setting and achieving personal goals, self-awareness, resilience, and the importance of continuous learning and self-reflection in building a fulfilling and purposeful life. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Personal Development you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

About my own Personal Development Plan at Work

Within my work role, I have a duty to ensure I wear my PPE and maintain safety within our clientele. I also work under the guidelines of a well-documented care plan. As part of our responsibilities, we are often tasked with helping our clients achieve the best possible outcomes. While this may not always be feasible, clients must be encouraged as much as possible. Additionally, I have a responsibility to respect people's beliefs, attitudes, and the views of individuals we […]

The Importance of One’s Value System in Personal Development

At the point when our activities and words are lined up with our qualities, life is commonly great and we feel content, certain, and fulfilled. In any case, when our practices do not coordinate with our qualities, we before long start to detect an uneasiness that starts to swell and develop within us. We live in this existence where guidelines are made, where we need to get together to them so as to be acknowledged. There are various qualities to […]

“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl Analysis

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who was a survivor of the Holocaust. He created a new way of thinking when dealing with tragedy called logotherapy. He explains what life was like during these times, and what logotherapy is, in his best-selling book, Man’s Search for Meaning. Through the loss of his parents, brother, and pregnant wife, Frankl remained optimistic during the terrible trauma of the Holocaust. He did this by finding personal meaning on this experience, which […]

We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.

Personal Development Plan is very Important

Identify sources of support for your own learning and development. Sources of support for my learning and development include attending all my study days and getting help to finish my apprenticeship program on time. Also, attending all my trainings to stay up-to-date with my role is very important. I can also get support from my mentor, team meetings, conversations with my colleagues, research, appraisals, supervisions, and observations with my mentor or manager. Describe the process for agreeing on a personal […]

About why Personal Development as an Important Piece of Life

First and foremost, the book is quite interesting, not to me in particular, but to almost everyone who sees personal development as an important piece of life. Personally, I think the way this book is written, along with all the tools and experience it conveys, is good enough to dispel all doubts and worries about how to sustain life. That being said, I must certainly say that I agree with the content the book tries to cover. One thing I […]

Human Development in Different Perspectives Across the Life Span: Differences and Similarities between Childhood Versus Adulthood

Throughout this paper, we have explored approaches to human development from different perspectives across the life span, such as in adolescence, childhood, adulthood, and so on. This subject is primarily investigated in terms of mental functioning and social relationships by developmental psychology in this chapter. To understand better, we have studied the stages in human life as prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Given that developmental research includes various methods, ethics hold […]

Personal Development in the Work Place

Development is any activity or experience that helps an individual to grow, gain new skills, gain insight, and learn. By working with your team and using a number of techniques such as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based (SMART) targets, you can successfully identify and improve the developmental needs of individuals within your team. Personal development is a self-managed, lifelong commitment to oneself. It is a way for someone to reflect on their potential, access further developmental training, and set […]

Dancing as my Passion

Dance is an art, in my word. Art is the window of my soul, is the tool for the communications with others, and the magic thing about dance is you can use the beauty of your body language to express your feeling and convey your message to the audience. Dance is the language hidden in the soul, every movement is a word, and it combine the dance to this beautiful poem. In fact, I have several years of dance experience […]

Good Time Management Motivates me to Take Control my Time and Schedule

I believe that I possess multiple traits that will enhance my education and future career. Throughout my student years, I have demonstrated qualities of self-drive, leadership, character, and good time management. I am a hard worker and a stellar role model who consistently seeks to help others. With those traits, I plan to further my education in pursuit of my future career. Self-drive means that you are motivated to accomplish something without an external reward. In school and outside school, […]

Benefits of Time Management

A quote by M. Scott Peck states, "Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you won't do anything with it." Time management is a skill that every person must learn. It is among the most important things a college student needs to be happy and successful. Time management will help students learn to utilize time efficiently. Less procrastination, stress relief, and more personal time are all benefits of time management. According to Jeffrey […]

Power of the Time Management

Time is something one can lose and never get back. Time management is the power to plan and control how I spend the hours in my day to accomplish my goals. There's a vast amount of responsibility that student-athletes have to manage. In order to capitalize on the use of my time and achieve my educational goals, I had to execute certain time management strategies. I made several adjustments in how I utilized my time and noticed a significant change. […]

My Educational Background and Work Experience: the Ms Family Nurse Practitioner

The graduate program I am applying to study is the MS Family Nurse Practitioner. My educational background and work experience has prepared me for this program. I attended Utica College for four years as I pursued my degree in nursing with a minor in healthcare ethics. I graduated in May of 2017 and accepted a Graduate Nurse position at Faxton St. Lukes Hospital. I became certified as a Registered Professional Nurse in July of that year. For the past 18 […]

My Battle with Public Speaking

'If you don't prepare, you're only preparing to fail.' This quote speaks of truthfulness. Foremost, it is really crucial to be aware and have some prior knowledge (maybe even a personal experience) on the topic. If you don't care then it can cast back upon your speech. In past speeches, I didn't prepare the way I could have, so I’m sure those performances would’ve shown it. With all the speeches I have prepared for after that, my craftsmanship got better […]

About me and my Sister Future Plans and how they did Throughout the Lifespan and what God Intended for me

Personally I have always had a strong belief that God sends people to us all for specific reasons. When I walked into the room waiting to find my sister to interview I was incredibly nervous. I had concerns of having nothing to discuss or having difficulty relating to my sister’s life experiences. However, as soon as sister Regina sat down with Lauren and I all my worries had gone away completely. The warmth and love sister Regina gives off is […]

Research Related to Student’s Self-development and Importance of Critical Thinking

Bruce Lee once said, "Learning is never cumulative; it is a movement of knowing which has no beginning and no end. The more it is known, the better it becomes." A person entering a new environment is always keen to know about their present surroundings. This cooperation with the surroundings leads to an impactful learning environment that enhances one socially. A new place or a new work environment always builds up skills that are critical and effective. Enrollment in a […]

Studies Related to Personality Development

Personal Development is a process that lasts a lifetime. It serves as a way for individuals to assess their skills and qualities, as well as consider their aims in life and set goals to maximize their potential. Everyone might think they are fully developed, but anything can happen during your lifetime, which could change any goals you might have set. In this paper, I will talk about personality development, focusing on how transferences and biology influence an individual’s personal growth. […]

Developing People in the Workplace

Understand the importance of promoting personal development. At Greenyard, we are continuously looking for non-utilised talent, which is part of our eight wastes. I believe that it is important for everyone to reach their potential within their chosen field. The main benefits to an organization would be- • Gain Key Leadership Skills: For example, Ashley Gower started as an administrator. He quickly showed his key strengths in leadership roles, taking responsibility and accountability for the decisions he had to make. […]

Take your Time Back: Time Management

A new, crucial resource; chasing deadlines and multiple priorities, is now our daily reality. We live in a time when knowledge is so readily available that it's no longer a matter of money or other hard resources to achieve our goals. Currently, the most valuable resource is time! With enough time, you can acquire the right knowledge, skills, money, relationships, and anything else that you need to achieve your goals. The challenge, though, is that there are so many things […]

The Way we Spend our Time Defines who we Are: Time Management

How would you like to spend your time? Each of us has our own aspirations and goals. If you've decided to pick up a time management book, then perhaps you feel that you're not spending your time in a way you'd like to. By now, you've started your time management journey by understanding your weekly routine. This is crucial because you need to know where you're spending your time. The next step is to determine whether your current approach is […]

How to be more Productive with Time Blocking And Time Management Technique

Everyone today seems to have a recipe for a successful, deadline-crushing workday. Normally, these include specific daily routines, practices, and countless apps. However, sometimes the simplest techniques can take us the farthest. Specifically, time blocking can turn you into a productivity master. What is time blocking? Time-blocking is a time management technique where you define the amount of time needed to finish a specific task or activity and then schedule it into your calendar. This way of organizing your schedule […]

Time Management is a very Important Tool for Every Aspect of our Life

"What is time?" Everyone thinks of something similar when they think of time. Some say that time is a type of measurement for everything we do, while others say that it is a commodity that, once used, cannot be replaced. The dictionary states, "Time is a measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues." "Time is the most misused resource known to man. It is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but […]

Time Management, Teaching/training Skills, and other Skills that Need to Achieve the Goals

In this competitive world, organizations look for a definite set of skills in an individual and place great value on utilizing them to achieve their goals. Industry leaders need to understand the growing need for analytical and interpersonal skills across the globe. The capability of a project manager to effectively manage projects lies in using these skills. Nowadays, many managers are unable to successfully lead their projects due to a lack of these necessary skills. In this context, soft skills, […]

Personality Development Based on Myers Briggs Assessment

There are two types of people: those who come into a room and say, "Well, here I am!" and those who come in and say, "Ah, there you are" (JB, n.d.). Even though this statement illustrates it, our general public fundamentally has two primary identity categories. Everyone is aware of those individuals who love to be the life of the party, and those who prefer to observe and reflect privately. The main question is which category each person fits into […]

Accounting and Me: Challenges, Flexibility, and Impact

Introduction When I first started college, I was not sure of what I wanted to study. For one reason or another, I ended up choosing Accounting, and I remember enjoying the classes a lot and taking them from there. Later on, I realized that I had made the right decision because this career will open many doors in the future. Even though it is a very demanding career, it can potentially help me if I ever decide to be self-employed. […]

Additional Example Essays

• Dogs Are Better Than Cats Essay
• Personal Narrative: My Family Genogram
• Reasons Why I Want to Study Abroad
• Comparison Of Introverts VS Extroverts
• A Class Divided
• Failures and success in business
• Why do you want to be a leader ?
• Dental Hygiene Application Essay
• Where Do I See Myself In 5 Years
• Why Are the Army Values Important
• Behavior Changes
• Protestant Reformation

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

Our range of over 180 online courses are fully accredited, trusted by more than 3 million learners and ideal for training you and your team.

• Food Hygiene
• Health and Safety
• Safeguarding
• Asbestos Awareness
• Fire Safety
• Mental Health
• Health and Social Care
• Business Essentials
• Team training

Welcome to the Hub, the company blog from High Speed Training.

Select a topic to find the most up to date, practical information and resources produced by our experts to support you in your professional life.

• Health & Safety

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) Guide & Template

What is a personal development plan.

Personal development is an ongoing process that drives you to improve your knowledge, skills and experience, so that you can achieve your goals. A personal development plan (or PDP) is a method of focussing your goals into achievable steps, which helps you keep track of your personal development.

Download Free PDP Example/Template

Why Should I Create a Personal Development Plan?

Your plan may be aimed at your education, career or personal goal, or a mixture of all three – that is up to you to determine. Whatever the case may be, a good plan will provide you with a clear sense of focus. It helps you map out a path towards your goals, strategise a plan to achieve them, record the actionable steps you will take, and set a timeframe for completing them. Focussing your goals into a PDP helps you maintain your vision, keep on track to achieve your targets, and reflect on your progress.

Simply put, a PDP can help you build a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it.

Interested in Learning More?

Let us help with your personal development goals this year. Choose from a wide range of  business essentials courses , whether it be  Leadership and Management ,  Starting a Business , or  Coaching and Mentoring . You could have your CPD recognised certificate in a matter of hours!

A clear plan can also support your positive mental wellbeing and improve your level of satisfaction. It can provide a sense of direction, purposefulness and a feeling of success as you start to fulfil your potential. All of these can have very positive impacts on your mental health. 

Therefore, discovering what your goals are, getting organised and giving yourself a sense of direction can be incredibly beneficial. This article will give you an understanding of how to write a personal development plan, as well as provide you with a handy template to support your development journey.

How to Write a Personal Development Plan

There are seven steps to writing a PDP:

• Set yourself goals.
• Prioritise those goals.
• Set yourself deadlines for when you want to achieve them.
• Recognise threats and opportunities.
• Develop your skills or increase your knowledge.
• Use your support network.
• Measure your progress.

1. Set Yourself Goals

The first step is to set yourself goals . Think about what you want to achieve, whether that’s within a few weeks, within a year, or over your lifetime.

Deciding what you want is not only the first step in planning, it’s also the hardest. Once you’ve figured out what you want to do, that goal will provide clear direction and a structure for your resulting plan.

At this stage, your goals will feel big. You might be wondering how you are ever going to achieve them. Don’t worry – the next step is to prioritise and turn those goals into smaller, actionable steps that will support you on your way to achieving them.

2. Prioritising Your Goals

Now that you have your goals, the next stage is to break them down into smaller steps. When doing this, it’s important that your goals are SMART:

• Specific. Avoid large, ambiguous steps. These won’t support you on your way to achieving your goals. Insted, make sure that your goals are specific and clearly highlight the skill, knowledge or experience you want to develop.
• Measureable. You need to be able to monitor and reflect on your progress. Therefore, your goals need to be measurable, such as by setting a goal to develop your SEO knowledge with a measurable target of growing your website traffic by a set, defined percentage.
• Attainable. Your goals need to be achievable and realistic. You need to think about if it is something you can realistically achieve with the time and resources you have. If not, you will likely be setting yourself up for failure. 
• Relevant. It’s important to keep your overall goal in mind and make sure that every step you take is supporting you to achieve it. You don’t want to be spending time doing things that don’t get you where you want to go.
• Time-bound. Set yourself key targets to achieve and deadlines in which to achieve them. This will help you stay focussed on achieving your goals. However, it’s important to make sure you are realistic in what you can achieve in any given period. Don’t try to achieve everything all at once. It’s unrealistic and you won’t be setting yourself up well to achieve them. Remember that personal development is a journey – your PD plan can continue to grow and develop as you take those steps towards your goals.

Once you have your goals, you’ll need to prioritise them. 

In your PDP, you should be setting yourself mini goals to make the big ones happen.

For example, if you wish to pursue a career in academia as a senior lecturer and then a professor, a necessary step to succeeding in this goal is to achieve a PhD. So that would be one of your long-term goals. You then need to break it down into steps, such as:

• Learn about the PhD application process.
• Find a suitable university and supervisor for a PhD.
• Look at routes for funding.
• Find studentships to apply for or apply to your university of choice.
• Write and submit your PhD application.

3. Set Yourself Deadlines

Knowing when you want to achieve a goal is crucial, and picturing your future is an important source of motivation and inspiration.

Having goals and a set deadline will drive your motivation to achieve them. For example, if your goal is to buy a home, knowing when you want to achieve it will help you calculate exactly how much money you need to save each year in order to get your deposit. The same is true for your skills, knowledge and experience development. As mentioned above, setting realistic and time-bound goals are essential to achieving them. 

One good way to understand more about achieving your goals is to speak to those who have previously trodden a similar path. Learning about  their experiences can help you understand key barriers to, or methods of, success that may also be applicable to your PDP.

4. Recognise Threats and Opportunities

When considering your goals, you should identify your own strengths, consider areas of weakness you can develop, look at the opportunities available to support you in achieving your goals, and any threats that may hinder you in your progress. This is called a SWOT analysis. Note that these threats may be external or they may be core skills that you can develop as part of your PDP.

For example, a lack of motivation could hinder your plans to apply for a PhD. However, once you’ve identified your tendency to procrastinate or lose focus, you can put in place methods that will keep you motivated.

There are also going to be things that you could do, and connections with people or resources you could take advantage of, that will help you on your way. These are your opportunities that you should commit to doing.

For example, if there’s a conference coming up, take advantage of that. Go along and network, stay up to date on the latest knowledge, or even present a paper. These are all opportunities that could help you achieve your goals.

5. Develop Yourself

Once you have an idea of what could help or hinder you, this is when you can capitalise on those opportunities you recognised. Make an action plan about how you’ll make that progress.

Whatever it is that hinders you, there’s a way to stop it. Your plan is the first step to making sure you stay on track. 

So, why not take a look at how to upskill yourself , develop transferable skills in today’s rapidly changing jobs market, or even discover an online learning opportunity .

6. Use Your Support Network

The next thing you need to realise is that:

You don’t have to do everything by yourself.

And you shouldn’t. The support network around you is a valuable asset, so use it and don’t underestimate it.

In your PDP, list the people who can help you. This could be a financial advisor, a friend, or a colleague. People are often so happy to help you, more than you might realise.

7. Measure Progress

After you’ve achieved some progress, whether it’s big or small, take time to reflect on how far you’ve come.

Recognising what has gone well is an effective way to bolster your motivation and remain dedicated.

And after a setback, this is another time to take stock.

Wallowing – briefly – is a good way to feel what you need to without holding on to it. Holding onto sadness, anger or frustration, however, will only deter you. These emotions will take you nowhere and will only hinder you.

You should also spend a little time figuring out why it went wrong. Can you identify a skills or knowledge gap? 

 If you can, then you can get yourself back on track by focussing on your next step. This will reignite your sense of purpose and help you regain control, which is integral to making progress.

Continue to reflect on your progress. You can gain significant insight from your reflections and this can help you grow. Remember that you should update your plan where necessary. Don’t overload it at any one time but, once you have achieved your small steps, reflect and then update your plan to focus on your next move.

Free Personal Development Plan Example & Template

In this article, we have discussed how you can create your own personal development plan, so you should now feel ready to start considering your goals and developing your own plan. To help you produce an effective personal development plan, we have created an editable template that you can use. Take a look at our example PDP, and download your free template below:

Further Resources:

• How to Upskill Yourself
• What are Personal Development Goals for Work?
• Using Key Phrases in Performance Reviews & Appraisals
• Resilience Quiz
• Resilience in the Workplace: What are the Benefits and How Can Businesses Develop It?
• How to Stand Out in a Virtual Interview: Preparation Tips
• What is CPD? A Guide to Continuing Professional Development
• Writing A Professional Development Plan – Example & Template
• Business Essentials Courses

Post Author

Her favourite article is Five Top Learning and Development Trends for 2020

You may also like

How to Write a Personal Development Plan for 2016 – and Beyond

If you haven’t heard of a personal development plan before, then bend a knee as this is important. This form of self-evaluation is used from universities to blue chip organisations – not to mention by the most self-starting, eager and driven people.

We could all do with a little self-improvement from time to time – so this year, invest in YOU with a PDP.

What Is it?

A personal development plan is a procedure where you reflect on yourself and your past achievements and plan for the future. It’s used to map self-development and career or academic progression. The method allows you to take time to contemplate on any successes, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities you might have. It’s a pretty cool process all round which, if used properly, helps you with motivation, confidence, clarity of direction and efficiency.

Why Is it Important?

Taken as a human resources ‘must do’ which you visit once a year as part of a review process at uni or at work isn’t the way to approach your PDP. The modern working and learning environment is changing at a rate which we have never experienced before. If you don’t develop you simply will be left behind. New learning is imperative to everyday life and if we don’t approach this learning in a structured way we most likely won’t get the most out of our time.

Tips for How to Create a Great PDP

The SMART criteria is a great place to start – to write a good personal development plan you need to focus on making sure it is:

• Specific – target a specific area in your life that you want to improve
• Measurable – specify how you want to measure progress
• Assignable – which development milestone is progressing which life goal?
• Realistic – sets goals that can realistically be achieved
• Time-related – specify when you want to accomplish the goal

Don’t be fooled into thinking that because it’s called a ‘personal’ development plan it’s only about you looking inwards on yourself as an individual. The best PDPs include how the person will make a positive impact on their environment around them as well as themselves.

It must be continuous, visited regularly, updated and amended, this could be weekly, bimonthly, and monthly – whatever works for you. Just don’t let it sit on your notebook or hard drive for a year without engagement. Use it to state self-reflections, be curious about possible new learnings, get feedback, be realistic and don’t get bogged down.

A good personal development plan should be quickly compiled and updated. This is something you should spend an hour a month on: do it on the train, in bed, at the end of a training session, with friends, waiting for an appointment, anytime that’s easily used, basically.

Here’s a quick infographic to see the main necessary elements:

The actual physical structures of PDPs vary quite a lot and you might change your format – or your goals and objectives for growth and improvement – throughout your development to suit your life stage. However, the important thing is you get what you need from it in a way that’s suited to you – here are some examples .

By giving yourself the time and resources to develop you will see the benefits in your studies, career and general wellbeing. Yes some people are self-motivated enough to do a PDP in their head and develop it, but others – most, in fact – need to dedicate some time and organisation towards it. A little bit of effort goes a long way.

Ultimately once you’ve become accustomed to working to a PDP you’ll be putting yourself in a position to achieve that job you’re after, that health objective, that university place, or whatever other personal growth objectives you might have.

Found our guide to how to write a personal development plan useful? Check out a few of our top courses for self-development .

Privacy Overview

Personal Development Planning With Examples

Before you begin your personal development journey, you need to know what it is that needs improvement. The past year…

Before you begin your personal development journey, you need to know what it is that needs improvement.

The past year has brought with it several eye-opening revelations. What you used to enjoy may no longer give you happiness. What you thought you didn’t like is probably something that gives you joy right now. Similarly, in a professional aspect, it’s possible you’ve figured certain things out for your career or profession.

What you want to be or do is not the same as anyone else. This is why your personal development plan will be unique, targeted and inspiring only for you.

Learn more about a personal development plan , steps for personal development and its examples to build one for yourself!

What Is Personal Development?

What are the steps for personal development, personal development plan – what it looks like, be your best self.

Personal development is the practice of building yourself up. It involves creating a personal development plan to help you assess your strengths and weaknesses. Identifying problem areas will direct you to build improvement strategies.

Today, many of us engage in personal development as a means to improve our skills and abilities. It leads to better opportunities both personally and professionally. Say you’re a junior staff writer at a local media firm. You decide to enroll in film school part-time and equip yourself with video-making skills. This adds value to your role. Not only do you get an opportunity to write but also be on site to shoot videos, edit and upload. ( xanax )  

Personal development is an exercise every person must invest in because learning, unlearning and relearning are significant aspects of life. They help you see things from different perspectives, understand and read others but more importantly, understand yourself far better. 

Before we explore a personal development plan example , let’s learn more about how you can invest in personal development. Here are the steps for personal development you can undertake:

Your vision is what drives you. Knowing where you’re headed and why is what gives you the motivation, courage and inspiration to go against all odds. Sometimes, it can be difficult to keep moving, especially when you’re facing challenges or setbacks. A vision is your guiding light. It may be something like becoming an invaluable member of your community, setting up an animal welfare center or becoming a reliable friend and family to people around you. Your vision is unique to you and it’s the first step in your personal development plan sample .

Enrolling in a personal development program will help you improve your skills and abilities. You have to take time to understand what you’re good at and what you need to work on. Each person has a unique skill set and ability that they have to offer. You may not be good at marketing but you may be a great salesperson. You may be a good listener but not so much a speaker. Whatever your skills, a personal development program will help you build them up. You can enroll in a program that caters to your needs specifically. This way you get to stay on track for your vision. Of course, the key takeaway of the personal development program will be skill development—something that’ll help you lifelong.

3. Benchmark

As part of your personal development plan , it’s important to set standards or benchmarks for what you want to achieve. This is also similar to goal-setting. It’ll help you analyze where you are and where you want to be. What it takes to bridge this gap is what you need to do while drafting a personal development plan sample . You’ll be able to determine just how much work you need to put into it. For instance, if you’re thinking of setting up your own website and you have some experience, you won’t need to build your website development skills that much. But if you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to enroll in a course or seek expert assistance.

4. Importance

How important is it for your growth to develop your skills or abilities? Determining the level of importance or the significance of your skills in your personal and professional life is a great way to push yourself in the right direction. For instance, you may be thinking of learning how to paint. But at the same time, you may want to upskill because you need a job. You have to consider the importance and urgency of each of these activities separately and make a decision. Upskilling may be more important at the moment than painting. Once you have a job and are well-settled, you can think of adding learning how to paint to your personal development plan example .

5. Destination

Your destination is not unlike your vision but more defined. This step in your personal development plan will be a culmination of all your efforts. You need to know what you have to do, how you have to do it, why you need to and where it’ll take you. These four aspects of your personal development are what will make it successful. Most of all, it’ll help keep you centered in case you lose sight of where you’d like to be. It’s easy to get lost in the daily grind, especially when the workload is too much to take.

A personal development plan is your roadmap to success. You can build it however you want, in ways that work for you. You can find a personal development plan example online to guide you. Try out a few ways that seem suitable and get started on your personal development journey. Let’s look at a personal development plan example to give you an idea.  

The age-old narrative of building a personal development plan based on what others think or will accept as success is now defunct. It’s not just about goals or your current skill level. Instead, the importance of a personal development plan is in how it guides your growth, learning and development. You don’t need to build a plan that works for everyone—it needs to work only for yourself. Focusing on what you need right now and in the future tells you the importance of a personal development plan . This is what makes it sound and robust.

Here’s a personal development plan example broken down into manageable steps:

• First, think of what you need to do. This can be something like building communication skills, learning how to code or even taking more time for yourself. These can be part of your vision. Everything else that follows will be built on these areas of development. Some people even choose development areas like overcoming stage fright or reconnecting with former friends. Your personal development will be based on what you need when you’re creating your plan.
• Second, highlight what you’ll achieve as a result of improving on these development areas. For instance, building your communication skills will help you in public speaking, delivering excellent presentations at work and building a personal brand. Others may include building self-confidence, traveling alone or even equipping yourself with a diverse, transferable skill set.
• Third, write down actionable steps to act on each of the development areas listed in the former steps. Actionable steps give you the nudge you need to go out and do something for personal development. This may be enrolling in an online course, attending classes at a university or starting a study group with friends. You can even engage in self-study where you direct yourself, add nudges and set benchmarks for your growth.
• Fourth, write down what success looks like to you. If you want to become a language expert, for instance, success can be reading a complex text in that language and writing an analysis or book report. Your criteria for success depends on the varying degrees of proficiency you seek to achieve. It may be moderate or expert, depending on your purpose or your ‘why’. Your ‘why’ is the most important part of your personal development plan . It gives you meaning and the drive to keep going.
• Finally, appreciate your effort, hard work and accomplishments every time you finish a task. These small victories can keep you on track to success. You may falter a few times, but you’ll find it easier to stick to the plan if you keep motivating yourself.

A personal development plan is not that different from bullet journaling or the multiple to-do lists we create on a regular basis. It’s just that it’s more aligned to what you need to do to become better at your job or as a person.  

Harappa’s Leading Self course will teach you what you need to do to expand your potential and invest in personal development. It doesn’t have to be a constant battle with yourself to improve and keep improving. Instead, find ways to sustain your development and build your skills over time. Mostly, you need experience to become better at what you do. On the way to personal growth, recognize the interferences that stand in your way and learn to overcome them. Don’t be hard on yourself and take time off if you need to. Our course will teach you how to pace yourself when it comes to utilizing opportunities for your professional growth. Start learning today and embrace the lifelong process of personal development.

Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as What Is Personal Development , Importance of Personal Values , Good Personal Etiquette and Individual Development Plan to advance in your career.

Personal and Professional Development Plan Self Evaluation Essay

Strengths and weaknesses, identification and explanation of resources to be used to achieve my plans, how i will be a world changer in the next five years, works cited.

People admire living a healthy and happy life despite the challenges that experience. They work hard to achieve their dreams, even though sometimes it becomes difficult to meet some targets. The desire to accomplish personal and professional goals pushes people to invest their time and money in various issues like education, training, health and research (Driessen and Tartwijk 196). This paper outlines my personal and professional development plan.

I am hardworking and believe in the possibility of achieving my dreams. I aspire to be a nurse leader and invest my time, money, body and skills to benefit all nursing stakeholders. Moreover, I plan my schedule properly to avoid lateness and ensure work is delivered before the deadline expiry. I do not postpone my responsibilities and believe that all work should be done at the correct time and place. My team leading skills, teamwork and cooperation enables me to work in diverse environments with partners from different backgrounds. I believe that research and additional training are necessary to expand my knowledge regarding leadership in nursing and that is why online and physical libraries have become my companions. However, I am very impatient and like things being done as soon as possible. I do not believe any person can outdo me in anything. Corrections and reprimands discourage me from doing my work properly. It is not easy to persuade me to change my mind once I am set to achieve a goal. Sometimes I overwork and this reduces my efficiency.

I have registered for personality development part-time classes to learn how to work with others without feeling offended when reprimanded. These classes are planned to help me manage organizational conflicts that occur when leaders have conflicting opinions. Part-time classes are scheduled to meet the specific needs of individuals and this means that I will learn how to develop my personality by knowing how to work with others (Hadar and Brody 154). Moreover, it will shape my perception towards corrections and reprimands and this will make me a better administrator. I am doing a lot of online research (journals and websites) on personality development to identify ways of correcting my weaknesses. The research includes reading testimonies of people who have successfully achieved personal and professional growth. There are numerous testimonies on the internet about people and how they managed personality weaknesses within a short time (Stone 44). Some of their weaknesses like being impatient and ignoring corrections from others are common in many people including me. I learn how they manage and avoid them in the future and that is why these testimonies are useful resources for my personality and professional growth. The people around me play important roles in shaping my personality by evaluating my behavior as an aspiring leader. Friends, family members and colleagues can monitor and advise me on my performance and this helps me to identify areas that require attention. They represent the whole society and the work environment and thus their expectations are similar to those of my future publics (Sonnino 37). Moreover, I use self-evaluation skills that include preparing a worksheet that shows my accomplishments in meeting my personal and professional development goals. It is easy to measure my performance using a daily checklist that shows the progress in developing my personality and professional development (Calderhead 15). Sometimes it is not easy to know whether an individual is changing without comparing behavioral statistics. Lastly, I benchmark my performance with that of other successful people around me to determine what I need to do to be like them. An administrator is supposed to possess excellent leadership and management skills (Moon 79). I spend a lot of time monitoring the performance of successful administrators and studying what they did to be where they are. In addition, they will be my role models and align my objective with theirs to ensure our paths are similar. The similarities between their aspirations and mine are likely to make me a good administrator in the future.

I aspire to change the world by becoming a better administrator. My objective is to introduce new energy to youths in administration and challenge the existing administrators to realize that their positions are not only reserved for the elderly. I would like to prove to them that age does not matter in offering quality services as an administrator. Secondly, I wish to challenge youths who want to be administrators when they are 40 years or older to know that this is their time to become leaders. I will motivate them to seek leadership positions in organizations and this will induce competition in managerial positions. Moreover, I will implement effective leadership that involves identifying the responsibilities of this position and how to combine various resources to maximize production and profits. I hope to become a personality and professional development speaker and guide people on how to become good managers in their organizations. This will involve helping them to identify their strengths and weaknesses and working on them to become better people. Lastly, I will transform the perception of managers by other employees and ensure they perceive each other as useful resources for achieving the objectives of an organization.

Calderhead, James. “The contribution of research on teachers’ thinking to the professional development of teachers.” Research on Teacher Thinking: Understanding Professional Development 13.2 (2012): 11-18. Print.

Driessen, Erik and Jan van Tartwijk. “Portfolios in personal and professional development.” Understanding Medical Education: Evidence, Theory and Practice 16.4 (2013): 193-200. Print.

Hadar, Linor L. and David L. Brody. “The interaction between group processes and personal professional trajectories in a professional development community for teacher educators.” Journal of Teacher Education 64.2 (2013): 145-161. Print.

Moon, Jennifer A. Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice . New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.

Sonnino, Roberta E. “Professional development and leadership training opportunities for healthcare professionals.” The American Journal of Surgery 206.5 (2013): 727-731. Print.

Stone, Ashley. NASPA’s New Professionals Institute: Exploring the Personal and Professional Impact of a Two-Day, Intensive Professional Development Experience. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, April 18). Personal and Professional Development Plan. https://ivypanda.com/essays/personal-and-professional-development-plan/

"Personal and Professional Development Plan." IvyPanda , 18 Apr. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/personal-and-professional-development-plan/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Personal and Professional Development Plan'. 18 April.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Personal and Professional Development Plan." April 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/personal-and-professional-development-plan/.

1. IvyPanda . "Personal and Professional Development Plan." April 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/personal-and-professional-development-plan/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Personal and Professional Development Plan." April 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/personal-and-professional-development-plan/.

• Forensic Psychology: Eyewitness Testimonies' Unreliability
• Forensic Psychology: Validating Eyewitness Testimony
• The Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony in Criminal Cases
• Testimony and Evidence Study by Bidrose and Goodman
• Community Based Corrections
• History and Heritage in the "Lost Photos" Article
• Concept of the Institutional Corrections, Its Importance, and Examples
• The Definition of Universal Justice
• Rehabilitation and Correction Philosophy
• Rhetorical Analysis of Wal-Mart: The Cost of Low Prices
• Al Mansouri 3B Group: A One-Week Internship
• New York City: Morgan Library and Roosevelt Island
• The Importance of Core Human Values at Workplace
• Lifestyle Assessment: Personal Experiences
• Electrical Engineering Career Development

• Environment
• Information Science
• Social Issues
• Argumentative
• Cause and Effect
• Classification
• Compare and Contrast
• Descriptive
• Exemplification
• Informative
• Controversial
• Exploratory
• What Is an Essay
• Length of an Essay
• Generate Ideas
• Types of Essays
• Structuring an Essay
• Outline For Essay
• Essay Introduction
• Thesis Statement
• Body of an Essay
• Writing a Conclusion
• Essay Writing Tips
• Drafting an Essay
• Revision Process
• Fix a Broken Essay
• Format of an Essay
• Essay Examples
• Essay Checklist
• Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Research Paper
• Write My Research Paper
• Write My Essay
• Custom Essay Writing Service
• Admission Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Essay
• Academic Ghostwriting
• Write My Book Report
• Case Study Writing Service
• Dissertation Writing Service
• Coursework Writing Service
• Lab Report Writing Service
• Do My Assignment
• Buy College Papers
• Capstone Project Writing Service
• Buy Research Paper
• Custom Essays for Sale

Can’t find a perfect paper?

• Free Essay Samples

The Importance of Personal Development Planning

Updated 29 August 2022

Downloads 49

Category Psychology

Topic Personal Development Planning

Personal Development Planning

Personal development planning is the process of creating an action plan and identifying skills to develop. The process can be used for career development, education, relationship development, and self-improvement. Personal development planning is an essential tool for success. It will help you identify and assess what you need to improve and how to achieve it. This will help you develop an action plan that will be effective and measurable. It will also help you get the most out of your life.

Job Security

The need for job security cannot be overstated. While job security is a necessity for any organization, it is also a major personal development issue for individuals. Today's job market is unstable and changes can be disruptive. But some professions seem to be more bulletproof than others. US News has ranked the most secure careers. This article provides information on how job security can benefit you and your career. If you are unsure whether a particular career is right for you, take a look at the US News rankings of the top careers.

Reflection on Learning

The use of reflection on learning in personal development planning is a powerful strategy that can enhance individual development. The act of reflecting on what you do allows you to learn from your mistakes and make improvements for the next time. For example, if you've made a mistake while making a job application, you might have a better understanding of why you failed in the first place. Reflection also enables you to identify your own weaknesses and improve your strategy for the next time.

Identifying Skills to Develop

If you're planning to develop new skills, it's a good idea to include your manager in the process. A good leader will respect your desire to learn and will give you opportunities to learn. Once you've identified your skill-development goals, make sure to stick to them. Set up a timetable, break it into weeks or months, and be sure to track your progress. This will help you when preparing your CV, applying for a new job, or undergoing a developmental review.

Self-Assessment

When it comes to developing an employee's personal and professional development, self-assessment is an important tool. It provides the information needed to develop a development plan. This plan is useful in setting goals and benchmarks. It also helps identify the path one should take to achieve their goals. Knowing which skills one needs to develop will help one organize resources and focus their efforts accordingly. The information can help an employee become more effective in their current position, which will make them more valuable to the company.

Creating a Plan

Creating a personal development plan is a great way to keep yourself on track and achieve your goals. A personal development plan is a written plan that details your goals and how you plan to reach them. You should also include a list of people who can mentor you, and who can check in on your progress. These people will help you develop the skills you need to reach your goals. There are many different ways to create a plan for your personal development, and a few are described below.

Threats to Personal Development

There are many factors that can present threats to personal development planning. In addition to internal elements, you should consider external factors as well. Think of yourself as a product or company that you would like to sell. Then evaluate yourself against your competitors. When you are comparing yourself to others, you will be able to see what your weaknesses are, as well as how you can improve them. When you're preparing for a change, consider your threats and how they could affect you.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Related Essays

Related topics.

Find Out the Cost of Your Paper

Type your email

By clicking “Submit”, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy policy. Sometimes you will receive account related emails.