Everyone wants to get ahead, reach their goals, to have meaningful work and fulfilling lives. Developing yourself personally is one of the most effective ways you can stretch your abilities, advance your career and improve your quality of life. Bettering yourself builds your self-esteem and promotes your talents making you a more valuable team member and frankly more employable in general.

Our jobs are where we spend a good portion of our day, and a big part of our identity and self-esteem is shaped by what we do and how we go about our work. Advancing your work habits can equip you with new skills that could earn you a promotion, an increase in responsibility, or bring in a well-deserved raise.

Personal development is not the same thing as self-promotion, it goes beyond taking measures to improve yourself – it aims to bring out the best in others around us. Here is a short list of easy steps you can take today to start down the path of personal growth.

Surround yourself with MENTORS. Befriend people who are finding success in your field. Role models offer insight, perspective and provide reference points as you are refining your own skillset.

SHARE it with someone else. Pay it forward by teaching someone else who needs to know what you know. People will start coming to you for advice and you will become known as an expert which can lead to new opportunities.

Take advantage of employee sponsored PROGRAMS AND TRAINING. These information sessions are basically laying out a company endorsed plan you can use to get ahead.

GET INVOLVED! Play on the company softball team, join the charitable contributions committee, volunteer or take part in some other activity outside of work that you enjoy. Being a part of something adds depth, richness and a sense of fulfillment to your life that spending all your free time on Facebook or other social media can never provide.