Why personal development is just as important as academic development…

So Why should you value your Personal Development as much as your studies?

As a university student, I imagine you already highly value the importance of your education (The fact that you are paying over £9,000 a year for the pleasure of this should be testament to that!) You recognise that to excel in a certain field and obtain the “dream career” that you have always been wishing for, you need to study this area… obvious right? 

In fact, we are taught from a young age that we should ‘stick in at school’ and if we get good grades, it will help us later in adult life as we forge to make a career for ourselves.  These are all valid points, and, in this instance, I am not discouraging them. As former students, our degrees both serve us in our current jobs.

However, whilst studying certain subjects or modules is obvious, one thing we are never really taught about is the importance of our own Personal Development and the significant impact that this will have on our future self.

Personal Development is a large and diverse field of learning, and it applies to many different areas. However, we feel this is not something in which we see being taught in schools, and in fact, it is something we rarely see being taught in universities. This is precisely why we are here to bring it to you in its most concise and easy to apply form…all so that you can become the best version of yourself by the time you leave University.

Starting to Realise its Importance Yet?

Personal Development is essentially something we chose to self-study and are very much in control of ourselves. There were no courses specifically targeted in this field as we made our way through the education system. Ultimately it was up to us, without any guidance, to trawl through the many good and bad resources that can be found in books and on the internet. And this is a key point…for all the great Personal Development coaches out there like Tony Robbins, there are probably 100 or even 1,000 trying to sell “tips” or “tricks” that are unhelpful and will not support you in the long run.

This blog post is not designed to be an attack of the education system, because all the above mentioned most definitely has its place… you absolutely must specialise in your field! However, we feel that the Personal Development field is not really given the recognition that it needs nor deserves at times. And even more importantly it doesn’t really get the recognition for being one of the most important element to your future success.

If you see our previous blog ‘The importance of Personal Growth on your future’ you can find many of the reasons we believe it is so important, as well as where it can be applied, but for a second stop and consider the following…

Consider This…

In life we are prepared to spend thousands on our formal education, but we rarely invest in our ‘Personal Development Education.’  When it comes to life of success and attainment, academic education only makes up part of it, it is essential that we invest in ourselves too, with skills that extend far beyond our niche area of study.

One of our mentors made a great point recently when he explained that “we will always get an instruction manual for a toothbrush…but we don’t for life”. Personal Development is key in learning about yourself.

Personal Development is at the forefront of some of the worlds experts in various industries and for good reason, they recognise how it helps them grow as individuals. You should recognise its importance to regardless of what stage in life you believe yourself to be at.

Our goal is to provide you with the far reaching benefits of Personal Growth that some of the greatest minds and leaders in the world use…all at a much earlier stage in your journey. Just imagine what you can do by discovering Personal Growth, before you have ever “failed”.

Whilst we are in no way dismissing the importance of your studies (we want you to excel in them), we want you to value the importance of Personal Development in that process. We want you to become truly rounded individuals when you leave University and embark on your future path. Making your Personal Development a priority, is going to help you achieve this as well as the best possible degree that you are capable of.

So How do I Get Started?…

An easy way to get started is to invest in yourself. Ways in which you can do this is…

• Invest time in learning personal growth practices. This could be through blogs like ours, books or even podcasts.
• Invest in products or services that help you to work on your personal growth daily. Just like a muscle, personal growth needs regular training to grow and develop.
• Invest in courses that will help support your personal growth. These don’t have to be expensive and overwhelming. Sometimes very short and concise courses are the best as you can regularly make those incremental gains that will lead to much bigger successes in your future life.

When you started your degree, you were likely given a list of ‘suggested reading’ sources and they will all be specialist books in your field, which you must absolutely focus your attention to. However, at the same time we believe you should also be putting equal amounts of time and energy into your personal development education to. This is why we have created Semester.  Pursuing a blend of growth in both your academic and personal life will set you apart from the crowd and provide the opportunity for much greater success in your future life.

To help get you started, visit our Free Downloads area where you can find a suggested Personal Growth reading list which also comes with a personal checklist so you can mark the titles off as you go. Print this off and pin it somewhere you can see. Target one book a month or even just a small amount of pages each day to get you started. Begin the daily habit of Personal Growth…

Invest in the Semester Student Planner. The planner is designed in a specific way to teach you how to work on your own personal growth. It is designed to improve your productivity, increase your wellbeing, all whilst teaching you valuable skills that will set you apart from your peers…make Personal Growth your differentiator and rise to the top of the class 🎯 Standard planners transformed our studies taking me (Nathan) from a failing student to one of only 3 out of over 150 in my class who achieved a first class degree…now just imagine what a planner that includes web supporting coaching will do for your future success and fulfilment.

Read our blogs, follow our content, and we will teach you some fantastic principles which you can start applying instantly and easily in your every day studies.

As well as this, as you move through your journey, do not forget to share it with us so that others can see this to, and we can build a community of likeminded people. Semester is all about giving students back the power they deserve through personal growth and wellbeing. This will allow you to truly realise your true potential and thrive at University #LetsGrowTogether 🎯