We’ve all seen the hashtag #goals before, right? Just me? Oh, well fine then. But I’m sure you do appreciate how important it is to set goals within the workplace. These could be personal growth goals or performance goals, and they could be set by your supervisor with your input, but they can also be set by yourself! While the performance goals set with your supervisor are important for improving the technical and interpersonal skills associated with your job, do not forget about goals that can improve you as a person as well as an employee. These are intrapersonal skills and often can get overlooked in a busy work environment.

Take for example a job where you’re always on the go and management is very impressed at your work. Everything seems to be going great and your career progression appears to be right on track. Not much more to it, right? Well, if you neglect your personal growth within yourself, you could be standing on a shaky foundation. What if something happens that disrupts all that success? How do you ensure that stable foundation to handle those unexpected moments? This is where these intrapersonal skills come into play. They give you the confidence in your worth as a person.

It is vital to keep improving your resiliency and finding your own truth. It is no secret that anxiety and depression can develop under the surface. The symptoms of conditions like these are difficult to spot early on and can often overwhelm a person without warning, putting all the career progression in jeopardy. Now, of course depression and anxiety are completely valid conditions and can happen to anyone, but proactively strengthening your inner resolve could be the difference.

This can be accomplished by regularly self-reflecting on the day. Whether good, bad, or a typical day, self-reflecting is an important tool. It can be performed using a written diary or audio/video to record your thoughts. You might be amazed the thoughts you have daily and how they can differ day-by-day. But if you never discuss these with yourself, it can be easy to overlook thoughts and emotions. For example, maybe you felt awkward during an exchange with a co-worker one day. The exchange might not have resulted in negative repercussions from work itself, but why did you feel that way? Perhaps you were feeling off that day or perhaps something else in your life was bothering you and your mind was projecting during the day and you never realized it. Unless you reflect on these emotions, you may never understand. Knowledge over oneself is power. The exercise of self-reflection can then be extended to therapy with a specialist like a psychologist. Therapy is an important aspect of living in our busy world and there is nothing wrong with talking to a specialist. You might be amazed at the burden left behind in their office once you’ve opened yourself up to that vulnerability. What’s more successful than a person who knows themselves completely and unequivocally?