The Connection Between Personal and Professional Success

The personal and professional aspects of our lives are often segmented – siloed for the sake of prioritization and focus, but also to ensure that they don’t impede on each other. There’s a reason for the old adage, “Don’t take work stress home with you.” That sentiment, however, doesn’t focus on the effects of positive actions that have the potential to holistically improve your entire life as a whole.

That’s where entrepreneur and executive coach Maga Kambala steps in. Kambala has been sharing timely information backed by research that outlines the positive effects of personal and professional development and how synergistically, they have the power to positively impact our own lives and the people around us.

Once the former Miss Africa Crown International, Maga Kambala has had her own fair share of trials and tribulations, but has never let them stop her from having a fulfilling personal and professional life.  

“Sometimes work would be difficult and it would be challenging to execute on personal ambitions. It would even seem insurmountable at times, but when I broke those challenges down. it puts things into perspective and helped me emerge successful,” says Kambala.

While it may seem obvious, the truth of the matter is that building your personal confidence will allow you to transcend obstacles and build resilience.

The Case for Resilience Training

“This is something I aim to teach,” says Maga Kamabala. Rather than writing self-help guides or authoring posts about the importance of reciting positive affirmations in the mirror, Kambala prefers to delve into the science.

 “That means asking where confidence comes from and how do we prove to ourselves in our daily lives and in our own minds that we are capable of anything.”

Maga Kamala has integrated resilience training into her online content and in-person coaching sessions, and in a previous interview with Digital Journal and FOX, she confirmed that the data supports her: a study demonstrated that resilience training reduced average depression symptoms by 33% to 44%. It also helped participants improve their overall health and well-being.

According to Maga Kambala, there are many variables that influence how resilient someone is at any given moment, and it’s something that fluctuates.

“The truth is that resilience isn’t something totally fixed. It’s a moving scale, and you might be capable of taking on way more in the morning than in the evening after a long work day or when your resources are depleted,” says Maga Kambala.

Willpower, according to Maga Kambala, is something everyone should work on to improve their odds of success in their personal and professional lives.  

According to the American Psychological Association, lack of willpower was the most significant barrier to change cited by 27 percent of respondents in a Stress in America survey. The association went on to state that research has shown historically that willpower can be strengthened by practice.  

These facts support Maga’s claim that resilience is a major factor in achieving lofty ambitions, or in simply getting through your own personal and professional responsibilities.

“Where I come in is teaching people how to build resilience and willpower as intrinsic traits, which results in holistic improvements personally and professionally. Once you learn how to build these aspects of your character over time, it translates into everything you do.”

How to Build Willpower

Further research by the American Psychological Association points to pioneering research over four decades ago by Walter Mischel, PhD. His findings concluded that willpower can be thought of as a basic ability to delay gratification.

“In that case, it’s simple and doesn’t need to be overthought,” says Maga Kambala, who goes on to say that it’s about asking yourself how you can find small ways to delay gratification and do the right things that will instead produce the results you’re looking for.

Throughout Maga Kambala’s delivery of educational content online and through her own thought leadership on the matter, she takes it one step further.

Maga Kambala says that instead of simply thinking about delaying gratification as a challenge or as a painful task, people can instead cultivate gratification from things they wouldn’t typically.

Going to the gym for example, might feel daunting, but if you start with fun exercises that you enjoy rather than trying to be a superhuman, you might just form a new healthy habit without realizing. “You’ll come back sooner and do much more than you initially anticipated because the entire experience is positive for you.”

By implementing this new unique approach, you’ll be able to turn challenging tasks into positive activities that motivate you instead. Instead of draining your energy and willpower, both finite resources, you can find enjoyment in the mundane and the challenging.

“Without even realizing, your resilience will skyrocket.”