What is self-direction and how does it help you achieve your learning goals

Are you struggling to achieve your learning goals? Do you notice that your motivation in your development lags behind? Then you may lack self-direction. Self-direction is necessary if you want to grow personally or professionally. That is why we share below how you can achieve your development goals by working on your self-direction.

What is self-direction

Self-direction is more than self-management. It is about learning to self-manage your life, your work, your time and motivation without depending on others and without having to be prompted or motivated by others. If you want to develop yourself, you need a high degree of self-management. This is because then you feel responsible for your own learning process and for a good result.

Create a development plan

It is difficult to steer yourself in the right direction without a plan. That's why creating a development plan is step one. In it, you write what you want to achieve in the form of achievable learning goals that challenge you. You'll find this in your development plan:

• 
  SMART established learning objectives
  
• Where your priorities lie when it comes to your learning goals
• What you need to do this; think about certain courses or an online learning platform
• Your schedule; what will you do when to achieve your learning goals

Work on your discipline

You are not born with or without discipline. This is something you can teach yourself. At least you already have a plan, which helps! Take a good look at this and consider where your weaknesses might lie. You know yourself best, of course. What could undermine your discipline?

Perhaps you have trouble keeping commitments to yourself. Then tell others about your goals, for example, and ask them to hold you accountable. Or maybe you get restless when there is clutter in your home, then make sure you create a place in your home that keeps you tidy and where you are not easily distracted. Write down for yourself what you might run into and think of ways to deal with these pitfalls.

Work on your motivation

Keep your learning goals in mind and stay motivated to achieve them. Keep reminding yourself why these goals are important to you and what benefits they will bring to you.

For some extra motivation, reward yourself after you complete a lesson or reach a certain goal. For example, agree with your partner or a friend that you will go out to dinner together when you reach your learning goal(s). That will give you more motivation. Plus, some extra discipline!

Work on your resilience

Are you someone who gives up quickly after a setback? Everyone makes mistakes, but when you have good self-direction, you really don't give up after a setback! Instead of seeing this as a failure, see it as a lesson. Acknowledge your setback and think about how you can avoid it in the rest of your developmental journey. It sounds like a cliché, but it really is true: you learn from mistakes!

TIP: Could you use some help dealing with adversity? Follow the webinar: Strengthen Your Mental Resilience on the online learning platform.

Do you want to get started on your learning goals?

Whatever learning goals you set for yourself, we at SkillsTown can surely help! In fact, we have over 650 online courses within our online learning platform, where you're sure to find the topics you're looking for. Start learning today!