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10 reasons why change is important for personal development

The concept of change can be unsettling. Many of us would prefer to shy away from changes no matter whether they are big or small. However, change is an integral part of your personal development journey and for the most part should be embraced. Change touches all aspects of life, but embracing change in your career (such as taking a [PRINCE2 project management course]), can contribute enormously towards positive personal development.

Internal Change Will Help you Focus

Change enables you to become the person you want to be. Practising and enacting change yourself is one of the most rewarding processes you will ever experience. It also displays a very valuable life skill. If you are able to pinpoint areas in your career that you are unhappy with, or need further development, being able to change your approach shows a commitment to progression and a confidence in your own ability. In order to avoid stagnation, it’s important for internal changes to be made almost continuously. No matter whether it’s changing the way your present yourself, developing your skills, takin a course or changing your routine – you are your own boss in life and a huge amount of change comes from within.

External Change Will Shape You

There is some change that we cannot control. External circumstances and changes will often have a dramatic effect on our career. These changes, no matter whether they seem good or bad at the time, will teach you something new. External change makes you more flexible, more understanding and prepares you for the future. Just as internal change will encourage you to progress, external change will give you the experience and drive to push forward. Something positive can be taken away from almost any external change, especially in project management roles where it imperative that managers are receptive to the changes around them. So, being able to grow from the challenges life throws at you is fundamental for healthy personal development.

Change Ensures Life Stays Exciting

No matter whether change is internal or external, it is undeniable that it keeps your career interesting. Change means that your experiences as a project manager will differ from day to day, vary month to month and transform from one year to the next. The world is in continuous motion - technologies, trends and politics will all evolve around you. Integrating yourself within the natural ebb and flow of change will ensure a fulfilling career experience. A career without change is likely to be one that lacks personal development as well as excitement, adventure and growth.

Change Leads to Opportunity and Experiences

Each change in your career is an invitation to try a new experience or take advantage of a new opportunity. Of course, these invitations can be declined, but it is important to consider the benefits a new experience or opportunity will bring you or your project. It can be all too easy to dismiss these chances as risky. This is potentially detrimental to your personal development as taking risks and managing failure is all part of the process we call life. However, knowing how to manage risk effectively is a process that can be learnt, with a little training and guidance. Accepting an opportunity, employing a new team member, or even trying an entirely new project role all count as constructive changes that should be embraced.

Change Ensures That Bad Situations End

Whether it is incited by you or whether it occurs organically, change is your ticket out of any situation or any place where you are unhappy or unfulfilled. So long as you embrace change, you will find that your situation does not have to last forever and you will progress on to something bigger and better. If you reject change, experiences and opportunities in your career are likely to pass you by. By taking a course to improve your skills or managing a new project, you will be presented with the chance to enhance and develop. Use change to push you forward and if you don’t like something – change it.

Change Helps You Move On

Sometimes the past can hold us back, but moving on is a slow and steady process that should be nurtured rather than rushed. Those little changes that occur every day stimulate your progress and put you one step further away from the bad situation you have left behind. It is common for individuals to let their past be the be-all and end-all of their personal development. This can lead to stunted personal growth and means full potential is never met. Your personal development should be continual and is a crucial part of moving on. Implementing change in your life and kick starting your personal development by investing in training will help your past to seem like a distant memory and help you to step into the career role you always dreamed of.

Change Means Progress

When you feel as though your development is slow going and you are still miles away from your career goals, take a look back at how far you have come. In past year alone you are likely to have progressed, even if the changes are only small. Looking back on the last five years you are sure to have progressed in many more ways than you have realised. If you don’t like the road ahead then making a change could lead to a promotion, a happier lifestyle or even a sense of fulfilment. Your goal should always be to progress and enacting changes such as training and learning is the best way to do it.

Change Documents Your Journey

The seasons will change, new technologies will emerge, the years will fly by and people will grow along with you. Your career will be counted and measured by the changes you’ve been through, not by the awards you have won or the money you have earned. You will never forget the opportunities you embraced, the chances you took or the times you failed and picked yourself up again. Those milestones are all part of your journey, each significant in their own way to your own personal story and contributing individually to your CV. Your personal development relies on the changes that have happened in the past which have led you to where you are now. And the training and learning you do today will help to carve your future path.

Change Will Happen Anyway

It’s undeniable, change is integral to your personal development and one cannot exist without the other. You may have yourself down as someone who doesn’t like change, but it’s important to always remember that change is inevitable anyway. Many huge career changes will not stop and ask your permission first. They will happen with or without your consent. However, there are still some changes that you can take control of. So, it’s better to embrace the course of change and make it your own along the way.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Grant Pettersson .