Why is self-development important you may think? Well, to put it simply in any career it is key to learn to know yourself – who you are and what your capabilities are, and then you can expand on these every day. However, to take away the simplicity of this, this can be a complex challenge for many questioning who we are and what do we want to do with ourselves today or tomorrow. The key is not to over-think this too much! Instead, change these thoughts to what exciting things are upcoming today and what can I learn from them. Take this approach and you are already and huge step in the right direction in developing yourself. There is no way to teach how to self-develop, it is in the understanding that we are developing personally and professionally each day, then recognising how we have done this and what we have achieved in doing so.
So how does this tie into teaching in China? Well, reading this you may be sat behind a desk in a job where you’re not being challenged or feel everyday is the same with no progress. You could be sat in a lecture reading this rather than paying attention, thinking what on earth do I do with myself when I finish University. The key point is everyone goes about leading their individual lives and may not know what could be around the corner. This is where self-development comes in. Overcome these hurdles – a career change/ new opportunity like teaching in China provides all the benefits of a successful career that pays well, or the travel and experiencing new cultures, which are all massive factors in developing a person. The career aspect helps you to learn what you are good at, which may surprise you along the way by realising new things – who knew you could be a top teacher in an exciting new country? The travel aspect allows you to diversify as a person in new cultures, new languages and abilities to work with lots of new people internationally – a key professional quality in life. Finally, the teaching aspect allows you to feel a sense of achievement when you see a young individual grow in their English language – you develop as a person as you have achieved something by giving someone else the greatest gift… knowledge and education. All of this contributes to your own well-being and positivity, which self-development is all about!
Overall, to make sure you are successful in self – development, take a small amount of time each day to reflect back and think… What have I learned today about myself that I didn’t know before, how does this make me feel, why is this significant to me and my life, what self-opportunities could this open for me and how has this created positivity and achievement for the day? By answering these questions, you’ve already answered how you have developed that day. Complexity made easy!