Below, Bernic lists the four key areas of self-development and how you can achieve success By focussing on each sphere

Overcoming fear: Often, fear exists, but it’s more a feeling than something tangible that you can identify. The result is an avoidance mechanism, a set of actions or inactions that trick one into steering clear of what makes one feel inadequate or unempowered. If someone fears speaking to an audience, they’ll avoid doing so, and even have excuses why they can’t such as time constraints or other pressing commitments. You have to accept that something’s going on. Your emotions influence the way you are around a subject. Try to explore this in detail and identify what it is, and how long it’s been around. Identifying the cause or origin of the fear in itself will lead to a shift in the way you deal with it because of your better understanding. Then afterwards, you have a choice: to either face the fear head-on by getting up on a stage and speaking to an audience or to do some work to overcome the fear. That could involve working through it, or otherwise, around it so that its impact gets diluted over time. Both would probably require the support of coaches, mentors and people you trust.

Self-confidence: Confidence isn’t something we get instantly – it’s the result of the work that we do, as being in shape is the result of a healthful diet and committment to exercise. We can set goal kilograms and centimetres, but we can’t measure confidence that way, so the work is different. Confidence is a feeling, which is subjective, and as a result, it’s more complicated. There are two ways to approach confidence. The first is to build the capacity to be self-generating and self-correcting so that, over time, you can create and govern your existence. The second is to explore what confidence looks like and approach life from that place now. Step into the person you want to be and take the actions that that person would take. Eventually, you’ll embody the “future you” that you’ve manifested as the “present you”, and you’ll feel more confident.

If you’re familiar with the spheres of control, you’ll know that the further we move away from ourselves, the less control we have. The irony is that many of us are perpetually trying to change others when the most effective and impactful work we can do is on ourselves. If we focus on our growth and development, we’ll improve how we show up in relationships with others. If we work on ourselves instead, we can do a better job at influencing others (as opposed to changing them), but that influence comes as a result of this shift in the relationship because of the work we do on ourselves. If I want to improve my marriage, asking my wife to change won’t be useful to me, her or our relationship. We have our own respective sets of »

values, some of which may be at odds. If I approach the conversation with a willingness to listen and establish common goals that we can both work toward, I’ll experience personal growth, and so will our marriage. Self-development in interpersonal relationships goes wrong when one party has too many expectations of the other or tries to control the other.

Each party in the relationship has a crucial role to play, and if one person works on selfgrowth, it influences the other person to do the same. It’s about compromise through personal development. Just be sure that it’s brought up and discussed through open, honest and continued communication.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are struggling with their time management, especially those juggling working from home and kids. Ordinarily, time management is almost solely about prioritising, but now it’s become more about creating a structure and routine that support both your objectives and your survival. First, plan out your day, from what time you wake up in the morning to when you go to bed. Know exactly when you’ll be eating, taking breaks and homeschooling. Then, schedule everything – use your calendar, but allow for flexibility because things can happen unexpectedly. Create a structure that’ll give you sufficient time to go about your day, but can also act as a safety net if the unexpected arises. Set agreements with those who’re affected by your needs and actions, including your partner, children, colleagues and employees. Don’t leave room for surprises – be open and transparent. It’ll allow you to pivot within the day or the week. Thirdly, use to-do lists, not only to prioritise but to see what you need to do. Manage them within your structure and make sure that you either tick off the items or carry them over responsibly.

Time management’s about taking responsibility for yourself and the world around you. The Eisenhower Decision Matrix can help you plan to act around importance and urgency. Agility is an asset that’s highly valued, especially during tough times such as these. It’s a remarkable quality for anyone in business, but during months of economic pressure, it becomes essential. Entrepreneurs and business owners aren’t the only individuals in whom this quality is appreciated. Sure, they navigate businesses around challenges, but their employees might be unsettled and require the agility to adapt. Just working from home and attending virtual meetings is something that needs significant mental agility. As we continue to move through the chaos to our new normal, everyone will be required to continue to be flexible in the way that they work, and those that embrace this new way of being will soar.

There’s the old debate around whether being an entrepreneur is innate or a skill you can develop. There’s no one-answer-fits-all. Some people are early developers while others are late, and others are self-taught, often as a result of passion or necessity.

One quality all entrepreneurs share, however, is the willingness to take risks and to see a plan through, even if the result is failure. Even the most successful entrepreneurs have a string of stories about how many times they’ve failed – it’s part of their journey. It’s not so much a case of trusting themselves, but more that they have a vision that’s so compelling that they have a strong desire to pursue it. Many people don’t even think of failure or have a Plan B – they move forward toward what they want to create.

From a developmental perspective, entrepreneurs are often best supported by coaches, mentors, advisors, consultants, other businesspeople – anyone who can help them stay focused and on track. Entrepreneurs generally have a keen interest in personal growth by way of reading books, listening to podcasts, participating in seminars and following other entrepreneurs that make the world a better place.

‘Selfdevelopment in interpersonal relationships goes wrong when one party has too many expectations of the other or tries to control the other. Each party in the relationship has a crucial role to play, and if one person works on self-growth, it influences the other person to do the same’