Managing Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing Professional Development - Essay Example When my applications work out in my favor, then I become grateful for my learning and am encouraged to learn some more. With learning should come reflection. According to Osterman (1990), â€Å"reflection is the essential part of the learning process because it results in making sense of or extracting meaning from the experience†. One should not just go through life as if everything comes as second nature. We need to think critically if what we are doing is truly meaningful and relevant or if we are just wasting our time on something insignificant. I constantly seek knowledge through work activities, workshops, lectures, various experiences, mentoring and training. Making sense of problems and searching for patterns to figure out solutions are completed by reviewing feedback I gather not only from research but from people around me. When I am deep in thought, I reflect on the tools I have – my ideas, opinions, experiences – everything from my own perspective, and try to identify the thinking processes I engaged in. If I allow myself to be analytical, I would put my personal perspectives on an objective frame of mind and critique it, rotate the ideas in my head inside-out to see if there are strong possibilities for solutions. I might even find new information there, when some old ideas are merged. I try to also become an instrument of learning for others when I share my experiences with them. I cannot see myself teaching them, as I know I have still a lot to learn, however when I share my experiences, I know they learn from me too. Now that I had to live independently away from the accessible guidance and support of my parents, I learned to... The purpose of this essay was to provide the reader with the opinions of the researcher on the topic of self-management and professional development. Undergoing the assignments for this course have been very enlightening for the researcher. The researcher can conclude that the exercises that were done have been essential in his journey in personal and professional development. The four-stage cycle of self- assessment, planning, doing and reviewing that was discussed in the essay is an effective way to truly stop and reflect on where one is at, where he is going and what he should do to get there. The researcher also states that he has learned many things about himself while doing several assignments of the course. Some of which the researcher had already knew, but needed to hear it from an objective source. It was summed up that the researcher knows how to extent his self-awareness now and states that the most amazing isue is that there is still more to discover about himself. The re searcher then mentiones that after completeing the course of self-development, he is going to continue growing and learning. To conclude, the essay expresses the opinion that the experiences and people that the researcher encounter all contribute to his journey and it is really up to him to see them as opportunities or threats. The researcher chooses to be more positive and embrace new learning that he can derive from such people and experiences as well as his own efforts to improve himself in all areas of his development.