Seven Milestones That Transform Talent into Strength
Personal development is a concept that’s often misunderstood. It's crucial to distinguish it from mere goal achievement, as the two are related yet distinct.
For instance, it's possible to achieve goals—even significant ones—without experiencing personal growth. Such achievements often lack a sense of purpose, fulfillment, or meaning. Conversely, personal growth can occur without any external evidence of success.
Personal development is largely an internal journey. It involves self-growth and self-awareness, making it a subjective process that is measured mainly by the individual long before it’s visible to the rest of us.
Recognizing Personal Development
Have you ever grown sunflower seeds in translucent plastic cups in school? If you have, then you're familiar with this project's unique advantage: it allows you to observe the growth process—seeing the roots and the young plant emerging from the seed—something usually hidden in nature.
Similarly, personal development often encompasses growth and progress that isn't immediately visible. So, how do we recognize the internal signs of personal development? In this blog, we'll explore what I consider the seven key milestones of personal development, with a special focus on developing strengths, and how these milestones are reflected both internally and externally.
The Seven Key Milestones of Personal Development
Milestone #1: Discover
The discovery phase in strength development is where you learn about your talents, perhaps for the first time. This stage involves taking an assessment, such as the CliftonStrengths assessment, to uncover your top talents. If you compare this to building physical strength, this phase is akin to finding the right gym and learning which machines or exercises are best suited for you. Although no visible progress is evident at this point, an important step has nonetheless been taken.
Milestone #2: Observe
During the observation phase, you observe how your talents naturally manifest in your daily activities. This phase is dedicated to pinpointing exactly where, when, how, and with whom these talents come into play, from significant life events to the smaller, seemingly inconsequential moments. Revisiting the gym metaphor, this stage could be compared to monitoring your posture throughout the day or experimenting with various workouts to discern which exercises feel like a good fit and which don’t. Again, there’s no observable change at this stage, but self-awareness starts to increase.
Milestone #3: Appreciate
Here, you come to terms with the reality that you probably have some talents you love and some you don't. You may also grapple with the realization that you lack certain talents you wish you had. It's akin to starting weight training because you desire the physique and weight-lifting capacity of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but at this stage, you learn to cultivate love and appreciation for your body, along with the exercises and intensity levels that work for it. By the end of this stage, you're likely to start feeling better about yourself, and others might begin to notice a boost in your confidence or see your mood and self-perception becoming more positive.
Milestone #4: Invest
In the investment phase, you actively work on your talents. Beyond understanding the report and appreciating your talents, you commit time and energy to take actions to develop your talent into a strength. This is literally you doing the heavy lifting by reading, taking courses, seeking feedback, getting coached, and practicing new skills to make your spontaneous talents more consistent and deliberate. In the gym scenario, you would be hitting the gym regularly and visibly getting fitter. In a development scenario, people around you are now likely to start observing changes in your engagement, productivity and profitability.
Milestone #5: Collaborate
This stage involves considering, if not actively discussing, how to leverage your talents in collaboration with others. It includes assessing how your talents might synergize with those of others and whether such combinations are complementary. In the gym scenario, this could be the point where you might hire a personal trainer or become one yourself to help others get stronger. Alternatively, you could use your improved fitness levels to benefit your community, such as participating in a 5k run to raise money and awareness for a charity.
Milestone #6: Implement
During implementation, you naturally think about your strengths and how to use them daily, perhaps through routines like reviewing your report or focusing on a talent each day. It's about integrating your strengths into forming partnerships, setting goals, and making significant life choices. If you’re ever committed to a fitness routine to this extent, it’s where you think about your workouts and when you’ll get them in all the time and you start to feel “off” when you miss one. This is where you more automatically consider your talents and how to use them so much so that they become a visible, consistent part of your identity.
Milestone #7: Shine
In the final milestone, your strengths are a well-known, well-honed, and a fully integrated part of your identity. You are recognized and sought after for your talents, which are as natural as they are precise and impactful, akin to a samurai wielding a blade or a gymnast executing a Triple Back Tuck, your talents become an integral part of your brand, reputation, and legacy.
Wrap-up
Personal development is rarely straightforward. Instead of progressing linearly through the milestones, you will likely find yourself revisiting or experiencing them in different orders, which is completely normal.
Remember, as you go through these stages of growth, the journey is just as crucial as, if not more so than, the destination. The knowledge and experiences you gain along the way are vital in shaping your identity and future. Embrace each phase, remain patient with your progress, and take time to celebrate every small achievement.
Interested in starting this journey? Consider scheduling a free 30-minute discovery call with me to explore your path to personal development.
