You may be familiar with interpersonal skills but have not considered your intrapersonal skills. Intrapersonal skill is more important in some cases. People who’re confident, self-motivated, and focused have great intrapersonal skills. Those people are aware of themselves, their strengths, and their weaknesses and carry positive energy everywhere they go. These factors significantly contribute to scaling their success.
Intrapersonal skill is all about having a clear sense of self. As a leader or manager, developing your intrapersonal skill and your team is now more than important. Working on and improving this soft skill can benefit you in almost every aspect of daily life. Like every other soft skill, some people are naturally born with it, and some build it over time.
If an intrapersonal skill doesn’t come to you naturally, no worries. There is always enough time to develop and learn something new. It is entirely possible to build intrapersonal intelligence by following some tips. Scroll down to discover the exact definition of an intrapersonal skill and effective ways to cultivate it.
What are Intrapersonal Skills?
Intrapersonal skill relates to self-awareness and is all about controlling your inner attitudes and processes. In simple words, Intrapersonal means “within the self,” so intrapersonal skill is about knowing what is happening within one’s inner self. This skill is highly related to emotional intelligence because it helps you manage your emotions, learn new things, and overcome challenges in different life phases. Moreover, Intrapersonal skill is what represents your relationship with yourself and other people around you.
Some of the crucial intrapersonal skills include:
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- Resilience
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- Self-confidence
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- Persistence
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- Self-discipline
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- Time management
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- Strategic thinking
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- Ability to control distractions
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- Being open to new ideas
Most of these soft skills are related to your ability to self-manage. Intrapersonal skills improve your emotional intelligence and your ability to communicate effectively. Like your technical and soft skills, intrapersonal skills are also a meaningful part of your professional tools. In addition, having strong intrapersonal skills helps you set clear goals, focus your attention, and solve problems thoughtfully.
10 Ways to Build Intrapersonal Skills
Here are the 10 ways that can help you build your intrapersonal skill and lead a more meaningful life.
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- Schedule your time
Do to-do lists and a lot of workloads overwhelm you?
Making and keeping your schedule will let you stay focused in such a situation. Create a schedule that includes commitments, appointments, household tasks, social activities, and even exercise and other self-care activities too. This would help you be reminded of everything you’ve to do and allow you to keep on track by limiting distractions.
Additionally, enjoyable activities in the schedule will remind you you’ve something great to look forward to. After following it for a few weeks, you will notice an evident change in how you manage your time.
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- Try Meditation
Meditation is a great activity that can help you increase your emotional awareness. Meditating can assist you in learning how to mindfully recognize your thoughts and feelings without being trapped in negative thoughts and self-judgement. The key benefits of meditation include relaxation, stress relief, and better sleep. These effects contribute to enhancing physical and emotional wellness.
Feeling mentally strong will boost your internal willpower and make it easier to work through challenging situations. Moreover, meditation will improve your focus in all areas of life, and you’ll be able to consider new ways to resolve problems.
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- Start a journal
Journaling allows you to track your progress, goals, emotions, and daily life experiences. Starting a journal is a great habit that can help you connect with your inner self on a deeper level by providing a record of thoughts and feelings. Also, it enables you to identify things you want to improve, like lack of self-motivation or low self-confidence.
Write down your thoughts and experiences on a daily basis, and your journal will demonstrate your growth over time. When you doubt your abilities as if you haven’t achieved much, looking back through months past can show you where your skills stand out.
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- Improve your time management skills
Another great tip for building your intrapersonal skill is to have excellent time management skills. If you get easily distracted and waste your time, you have to work on improving your time management skills. Prioritize your tasks according to their importance and work eagerly before taking a break. Besides, organize your workspace and make it distraction-free.
Also, organize everything at home, so you know where things are when needed. Learn to say “No” respectfully when you have a lot on your plate. Lastly, doing the important tasks during your productive hours is recommended so you can complete them without wasting your time.
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- Practice Self-reflection
Self-reflection is one of the great ways to become self-aware. It means thinking over your moves, choices, and things crucial in your life. Self-reflection includes reflecting on your personal values and identifying how your actions affect the people around you, especially your loved ones.
Most importantly, you recognize where you face challenges and where you work well. It can be procrastinating on work tasks when you don’t get them. This practice will help you get clear on the things and people that matter to you.
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- Be compassionate
You can flourish your self-compassion and get more in tune with your emotional experience by increasing your compassion for others. The best place to start is by putting yourself in their shoes and considering their life experiences. It will provide you with insights into why they act a certain way.
However, performing kindness can help promote positive feelings for yourself and those around you. Compassion will make it easier for you to identify your mistakes, make tough choices, and also believe that people are trying their best to do what they can.
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- Practice positive self-talk
Your internal voice is the most critical and the loudest. The way you talk to yourself can have a massive impact on your internal experiences. Self-criticism and negative thought patterns don’t motivate you; instead, they leave adverse effects. Instead of beating yourself mentally when you mess up, practice positive self-talk by reminding yourself of your achievements and successes.
It is wise to figure out the areas where you might have to improve yourself. But praising your accomplishments can help you work on your weaker points with more determination and confidence.
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- Take risks/chances
Trying something new can be a bit scary. We often feel safe sticking with things that already work. However, sometimes a little risk can pay off in the long run. Whether you’re shifting your career, picking a new hobby, trying to thrive in your relationship, or anything, taking chances can lead to success. Doing the same things daily can hold you back and won’t let you explore alternatives that can fulfill your life.
Taking chances that end in success can motivate you to try out new things and boost your self-confidence. But chances or risks that don’t work out can lead to experiences and progress. It will give you the motivation to keep moving forward and trying again.
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- Set realistic goals
Goals shape your life. Your goals show who you’re as a person and what drives you. Therefore, having short-term and long-term goals are super important. Success in achieving small goals, like breaking a bad habit, can motivate you to set broader goals.
Moreover, honoring your past accomplishments will boost your courage and improve self-awareness which will help you take greater steps with future plans. When setting goals, set realistic goals and think about the person you exactly want to be. It will help you stay on track and achieve your dreams.
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- Seek professional support
It can be challenging to develop your intrapersonal skill or enhance emotional intelligence on your own, mainly when you do not have an exact idea of characteristics you want to strengthen. Here is where an executive coach or therapist will help you. With the help of a professional, you can increase your self-awareness and improve your intrapersonal skills.
A coach can help you identify challenges or concerns that pop up in your mind and habits. Also, a professional can guide you on areas highly related to your intrapersonal skills. For example, if you’re struggling to forgive yourself for your bad decisions, a professional can teach you skills to improve self-kindness and inner self-compassion.
Conclusion
Self-awareness is just the start of an unending list of intrapersonal skills. By being aware of yourself, you’ll discover whether or not you’re good at setting goals, mastering your emotions, keeping your focus, prioritizing things for yourself, and mastering many other aspects of your life. People with strong intrapersonal skills are able to achieve more in life than those with poor skills. They have excellent time management skills, can cope better in stressful situations, and are more confident in themselves. Now is the time to invest in yourself and develop this great skill to succeed in your professional and personal life. You can build an intrapersonal skill by regularly following these simple ways and working hard at being more conscious and self-aware. Still, if you need any help to expand your emotional intelligence and strengthen your intrapersonal skills, feel free to schedule a free session with an executive coach!
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