IntroductionWhy is it that we think we dont have to continueour self development once we have finished oureducation? Maybe it is because we equate learningand development with the educational institutionsthat we have spent so much time in during our earlyyears. Of course, we continue to developthroughout our lives, and continue to gain newskills and attributes throughout our working livesand our lives as partners, parents, grandparents,and our involvement with our communities.The desire to improve is paramount here. If we getto the point of thinking that we no longer need toimprove, we are showing how closed our minds are,and how entrenched our attitudes. This approach tolife doesnt allow for change, and doesnt allowfor development. To be a fully rounded andhealthy person, it is necessary to be able torespond to changes in our lives, in ourenvironments and in our hearts and minds.Rigidity in life will impact not only on ourselves,but on others, and will make our lives difficultwhen change is necessary or forced upon us.No-one is perfect, and no-one knows everythingthere is to know. Thankfully we generally dontneed to know everything, but we do need to knowwhen we need to learn something, and when we needto develop new skills and abilities.Generally speaking, it helps to have a goal or twoin mind to guide our self development program, andto have the right sort of attitude. For example,its best not to get too worried about what it isyou cant do, or need to improve. Rather, weshould take the knowledge of our shortcomings andexamine ways in which we can improve. Worryingwill do no good at all. Our energy should bedirected to working out exactly what it is we needto do better and how.Confidence is everything really, and confidence inyour ability to learn and improve will make anamazing difference to your success. If you areconvinced that you cant learn something, then youhave already lost the battle. If you can tellyourself that if other people can do it, then socan you, this is a sign that you are on the way tosuccess.Making the most of yourself means treating othersas you would like to be treated yourself. Treatpeople with respect and you are showing that youare worthy of respect too. So dont mess peopleabout, do make sure you are on time if you havearranged to meet someone, and do be courteous andpleasant. If you patronize someone or treat themdismissively, they will remember this about you,and this will not be helpful to you should you needat some point to ask them a favor, or if you findthat you are employing them.Once you have given yourself permission to beconfident about your abilities, and to hold yourhead high with others, you can really work on theaspirations for improvement. Make sure you aimhigh enough. Low level goals are too easy, anddont test your abilities sufficiently. Aiming toohigh means you are less likely to meet your target so maybe you need to set goals that divide up thebig task and deal with these one at a time. It isimportant to make a realistic assessment about howyou are going to achieve your goals.Once you know what you are aiming for, you need tomake a sensible plan of how you are going to getthere. Plans are essential. Plans allocate timefor certain tasks, and break tasks down intomanageable proportions. Plans enable you to makethe best use of your time, and to develop theskills required to get things done.It is important to be goal oriented. It is allvery well reading up on something, but you need toput theory into practice. For many people, its amatter of lots of talk, but not so much action.With everything you do, try and ensure there is ameasurable outcome that you can identify as atarget, and can be seen to be done.Dont let obstacles get in your way. When thingsget difficult, its important that you dont giveup. If we never have to overcome problems on ourway, we would find life to be an easy ride. Thetest is how you overcome problems on the road toachievement and success.If you consider some of the most successful peoplein the world today, you will find many of them havehad more than one career, and many of them haveexperienced failure in the first degree andcontinued on to great future success. This reflectstheir self belief and determination.So when things go wrong, learn from your mistakesand the mistakes of others. Never think you knowbest all the time, and acknowledge that sometimesyou do. You should always think it possible tolearn something new.There are various stages in the path to selfdevelopment. First, you need to take stock ofyourself, your life and your dreams. If you donthave any dreams, or visions of the future, then youneed to spend some time working out where you aregoing in your life, and whether you should bechanging anything.You need to consider carefully whether yourattitudes, feelings and beliefs, your behavior andyour actions, are quite what you want them to be.Are they going to hinder or help you achieve yourgoals and desires? Or do you need to take steps toretrain yourself in certain ways, and work towardsa healthier, better life management plan?Self confidence, self belief, a certain amount ofmodesty, a positive attitude and a seriouscommitment are all essential elements to selfdevelopment. Self development involves work, butit is work that will enable you to live your lifefully, and give you the satisfaction of making notonly your own dreams come true, but helping othersto do so too.