Personal Development Courses and Why You Should Take Them

Personal development, a seemingly buzzword of the last few years, but what is it, why is it important, and what courses does Ashton College offer for personal development. Firstly, when I say personal development what is the first thing that comes to your mind; maybe self-care, continuing education courses, intrapersonal awareness or something of that nature? All of these answers are correct, but it is important to note that personal development is not just the act of doing one thing, it is an ongoing life-long process of investing in yourself and building up your awareness, knowledge, skills in all areas of your life while strengthening your overall sense of identity.  

Benefits of Personal Development 

Working on your personal development will benefit all aspects of your life from personal relationships to your professional aptitude.  

• It creates self-awareness

Personal development begins with self-awareness. Knowing who you are; self-awareness of your strengths, weaknesses, values, beliefs, perceived and true identity, and what you wish to pursue in this life. You can not invest in yourself if you do not who you are. 

• It forces you out of your comfort zone

Focusing on a weakness or learning something new (or something we may feel shame or guilt) will make you feel uncomfortable. This is not a bad thing as it leads to growth, understanding, and proactivity.  

• It can provide you with a sense of direction

Many people turn towards self-help or personal development when they are feeling lost. Creating self-awareness will help you find your path, set goals and decision-making becomes easier as you understand what you are working towards.  

• It makes you stronger and can provide you with greater coping skills

Personal development does not stop hardship, but it can make it easier and with greater confidence, resilience and personal and interpersonal skills to cope with life. A big thing that you will learn through personal development is how you are in control of your attitude and while you can not change the circumstance you can change your attitude towards it, making it easier to deal with.  

Being Present and Simplifying 

Something many people need help with is being present. One such technique that is great for beginners is mindfulness. An introduction to mindfulness course will provide you with a pathway for living with more freedom, authenticity and ease. Mindfulness teaches us how to become aware of our moment-by-moment thoughts, feelings and sensations without judging those thoughts and feelings as good or bad. You can even complete a mindfulness for stress reduction course if your main distraction from being present is stress-related.  

Looking to simplify your life and get rid of the clutter and distraction internally and externally? That concept of minimalism is calling your name, what was originally a design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect, has now become a way of life. Getting rid of all the necessary clutter will take self-awareness and a strong sense of identity to achieve.  

Learn Something New 

Have a passion to teach or desire to create your own course? Learn how with Moodle, an open-source learning management system that enables you to create online courses. Our Teaching with Moodle course will show how to build a course in Moodle from scratch and identify common errors made when using Moodle as a teaching tool. 

Want to explore the therapeutic process of cognitive behaviour therapy which can specifically benefit both personal and professional development. Create a strong foundation in cognitive therapy and even look to specialize in depression, anxiety or ADHD depending on your goal whether it be personal or professional. 

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone 

Take a proactive look at Canadian history to unlearn and get uncomfortable with the Residential School System in Canada course. Take a hard look at the involvement of the Canadian government and the various churches that created and implemented the framework for residential schools, as well as the church-government relationship.  

While there are many different styles of communication, there are some ways of communicating we need to unlearn.  Unfortunately, contemporary culture has taught us to think and speak in ways that can perpetuate conflict, pain and even violence. Take a course in nonviolent communication to unlearn this destructive and negative way of communicating and learn how to communicate in a peaceful, compassionate, and honouring way.  

No matter how you decide to start or continue your personal development journey, Ashton College has many continuing education courses that can help you in your path of growth, self-awareness, unlearning and relearning.  

Disclaimer

The information contained in this post is considered true and accurate as of the publication date. However, the accuracy of this information may be impacted by changes in circumstances that occur after the time of publication. Ashton College assumes no liability for any error or omissions in the information contained in this post or any other post in our blog.