Personal Development is about taking the time and making a commitment to investing in yourself so you can become the best version of yourself. When you put the right kind of effort in self-improvement, you will be surprised by the amazing positive results that you can get. These results are not always quantifiable, but many have successfully transformed their lives by opting for right personal and professional growth strategies. Though we all want to improve, with todays demanding jobs and ever busier lives, we dont know how to get there. Well, the fact is that you dont need to go to schools or universities for this; you can learn a whole lot through self-directed learning courses available online.

By engaging in personal development courses, you can develop skills in areas such as mental mastery, strategic and creative thinking, listening, speaking, coaching, personal finance, problem solving and a range of management disciplines. With the right skills and knowledge in place you will become more confident, fulfilled, effective and empowered not just at work but in overall life.

With so many of such courses, our experts have rounded up the best and most beneficial soft skills and personality development online courses and certifications available to undertake this year. While most courses on this list are free to enrol, some of them require you to pay a small fee. Choose the right training course from this list and get started with your personal development.

Heres our List of 10 Top-Rated Personal & Professional Development Courses, Classes, Certifications and Trainings available online in 2022.

At the outset, lets tell you that this is the most popular class in Yales history of 317 years and is now available for everyone to undertake for free. Yale Psychology Professor Laurie Santos introduced this class as Psychology and the Good Life in the spring of 2018 to help students navigate the rising levels of anxiety, depression and stress in their lives. The class instantly became so popular that almost a quarter of all Yale undergrads enrolled in it in the inaugural year itself.

As the demand for access to the class content kept growing amidst lots of media attention, Professor Santos created an iteration of the course for Coursera titled The Science of Well-Being so it could benefit a wider audience.

In this course, Santos has collected all the psychological science out there and come up with a step-by-step process for boosting happiness. The course focuses both on positive psychology the characteristics that allow humans to flourish, and behavioral change, or how to live by those lessons in real life. The first part of the course discusses things people often get wrong about happiness, plus aspects of our mind that make us think the way we do. Then, it goes into methods that have been scientifically proven to make us happier. The last part of the course gives learners time, tips, and social support to work on the final assignment which asks learners to apply one wellness activity aka Rewirement into their lives for four weeks.

The following topics are covered in weekly instalments:

The course content includes video lectures (shot in Santos own home with a handful of Yale students in the audience), optional readings and a lot of homework centred on daily exercises geared toward changing your habits recognizing and then dropping bad ones while developing new happier habits. In a nutshell, this course is a gold mine for life hacks.

You can either enrol in the course for $49 and get access to all course content, along with graded assignments and earn a certificate of completion at the end of the course. You can also choose to audit the course for free, in which case youll have access to course material but not graded assignments. You can upgrade to a paid certificate any time during or after the course.

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Duration : 10 weeks, 2-3 hours per weekRating : 4.9Sign up Here

Have you ever wondered how your brain works when it comes to learning any new piece of information? This course from Coursera offered in collaboration with McMaster University and University of California, San Diego will help you learn that and more, so you can effectively use this knowledge of how your brain actually processes information to learn complicated subjects. Whether it is art, music, science, math, sports, or literature, this course will serve as a guide to help you learn the subject in a more efficient way and improve at it.

This course is the most popular and loved course on Coursera with almost 2 million students enrolled. It is taught by distinguished professors Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. Dr. Oakley describes how she flunked her way through elementary, middle school and high school math and science and later retooled her brain and has since made it her lifes work to help others learn how to learn by explaining some key principles from modern neuroscience. She takes you through the following topics in a very friendly and insightful manner:

Using the approaches taught in this course, no matter what your skill levels in topics you would like to master, you can change your thinking and change your life.

This course is offered as 4 weekly instalments, and includes 3 hours of video, 3 hours of exercises and 3 hours of bonus material. Though you can complete it at your own pace, it is suggested that you spend 3-4 hours every week. There are quizzes at the end of each video lecture and each module to help you test and validate the learning. The concepts are illustrated with goofy animations, like surfing zombies, metabolic vampires and an octopus of attention.

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Duration : 4 weeks, 3-4 hours per weekRating : 4.8Sign up Here

This Course has been designed by Dr. Barbara Oakley (creator of wildly popular MOOC Learning How to Learn with more than 2 million student participants on Coursera). She has designed this Mindshift course to help learners boost their career and life in todays fast-paced learning environment. We all know that learning new things in the workplace can be quite challenging, but it is a necessary step to advance your career. This course focuses on how you can develop potential in your workplace and beyond. It teaches how you should keep your mind open to adjust to change, be willing to learn new things and how to do that effectively, and much more.

Dr. Oakley believes that just about anyone can train herself or himself to learn. Whatever your age or stage, Mindshift teaches you essentials such as how to get the most out of online learning and MOOCs, how to seek out and work with mentors, the secrets to avoiding common learning pitfalls, career ruts and general ruts in life, and insights such as the value of selective ignorance over general competence. You will learn about second-skilling yourself, and developing a talent stack of average talents that can combine into a formidable asset.

The course is presented as 4 weekly instalments with video lectures, quizzes and graded assignments. The lessons are rich in metaphor, as the instructors believe that the metaphors use the same neural circuits in the brain as the underlying concept does, so they help to get the complex ideas across much effectively. The popularity of the course is a testament to the great content and presentation skills of the instructors. The course is highly recommended for individuals likely facing career changes and seeking better ways to climb new learning curves.

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Duration : 4 weeks, 2-3 hours per weekRating : 4.8Sign up Here

We are witnessing a lot of interest in meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation these days. For some its a therapy, for others technology and for some a lifestyle choice. Tens of millions of people admit to practicing it in United States alone. Significant research into mindfulness has been going on in various disciplines in sciences, social sciences and humanities. This Mindfulness course aims to provide learners with theoretical and practical skills to understand and critically access mindfulness in its various forms. The course has evolved from popular Honours Academy course at Leiden University and is rooted in experiential learning providing an evidence base of what mindfulness can do to people and conceptual base of what mindfulness might actually be.

This is a very innovative course that encompasses ancient traditions and cutting edge science in order to de-mystify mindfulness as a technology for life. Experiential learning is at the heart of the course including specially designed meditation labs, in which learners get chance to practice and analyze mindfulness on themselves. There are 6 modules that explore the Psychology, Philosophy, Politics and Future of mindfulness. The course culminates with a Honours Project in which learners create original, new projects of their own based on the knowledge accumulated and experiences & insights gained throughout the course.

The course has been designed by Dr. Chris Goto-Jones, a very learned and renowned professor of Philosophy. He delivers the course in a very friendly and open style with a lot of focus on daily experiential practice. There are several useful resources provided for further studies.

This course serves a wide range of learners. Whether you are new to mindfulness looking for clarity, or a seasoned practitioner looking for more depth, or a mindfulness teacher looking to broaden your understanding or a therapist looking to diversify your knowledge, this course has something valuable to offer to everyone.

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Duration : 5 Weeks, approx 3 hours per week theory + 30-45 minutes per day for experiential practicesRating : 4.8Sign up Here

This Specialization is based on the four most popular courses taught at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and has been designed to help you maximize your potential and be more successful in both personal and professional life, using the techniques and exercises taught at the Wharton School. This course teaches students to harness key skills that can help them navigate their social world more effectively.

Upon completing this Specialization, learners will be able to define what success means to them, find their passion and core values, apply these values and principles at home and at work, work well with others, communicate effectively, set goals and influence others to achieve their goals. While many business courses only cover topics related to successful organizational practices, these courses provide key insights into successful personal practices that work well in both professional and personal life.

This specialization comprises of following four courses that are in a sequence, and the sequence is important:

Throughout the specialization students undertake several exercises, self-diagnostic surveys, quizzes, and many case studies. Whether one is starting career and trying to figure out the direction to take or is an experienced professional who has all figured out, this specialization provides the tools that will help them make a bigger impact in whatever they do.

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Duration : 16 weeks, 2-3 hours per weekRating : 4.7Sign up Here

Reasoning is important. Think Again course promises to teach you how to reason and argue well and in an effective manner. Basically, it is structured as a series of four short courses that explore the logic underlying arguments, how arguments are constructed and deconstructed, and how to identify and evaluate arguments and what makes a good argument.

You will learn simple but vital rules to follow in thinking about any topic at all and common and tempting mistakes to avoid in reasoning. You will be taught how to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments by other people (including politicians, used car salesmen, and teachers) and how to construct arguments of your own in order to help you decide what to believe or what to do. These skills will be useful in dealing with whatever matters most to you.

This is not a typical course in logic. But, has a much different focus as it attempts to teach how one could evaluate arguments in everyday contexts. The syllabus explores the following in four distinct parts:

All the four courses are instructed by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Chauncey Stillman Professor of Practical Ethics in the Department of Philosophy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, and Ram Neta, Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The humorous and friendly delivery style of the professors is very well liked by the students.

The courses are delivered as 10-15 minutes micro-lectures. Multiple choice exercises follow each lecture for students to check their understanding. Several additional reading notes are also provided for students who wish to explore the topics in more depth. Longer graded quizzes are included at the end of each course.

This is a very engaging and applicable course, and presented with 100% efficacy. It serves people working or studying in a wide range of fields pretty well. Regardless your job or location, the information, tools and techniques taught in the course will help you to reason in everyday life.

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Duration : Approx. 16 hoursRating : 4.6Sign up Here

Public speaking is a highly sought after soft skill for business executives, sales people or trainers or anybody in public-facing profession. This 4-course series created by University of Washington is one of the highest quality courses that will help you up your speaking game. The instructor Dr. Matt McGarrity is UWs distinguished lecturer and has won several awards and accolades for public speaking research. He has spent an entire career helping nervous novice speakers grow into confident communicators. In this course he helps learners hone public speaking and speech writing techniques. You will learn about how to design impromptu speeches, master the speech preparation process, and deliver informative and persuasive speeches in the most effective manner.

This public speaking specialization is for speakers at all levels. Its a self-paced program with flexible deadlines that will take about 4-6 months to complete with around 3-4 hours of work per week. Throughout the courses, learners will record speeches, providing and receiving peer feedback. Although it does not come with any college credit, financial aid is available.

The courses in this specialization draw from the fields of communication, linguistics, and debate creating a comprehensive curriculum and include the following:

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Duration : Approx. 4-6 monthsRating : 4.7Sign up Here

Neuroplasticity has become quite a buzzword these days especially in scientific and psychology circles. It promises that we can rewire our brain (contrary to ancient popular wisdom) to improve everything from health and mental wellbeing to quality of life. This course on Udemy by Gregory Caremans teaches the concept of Neuroplasticity and how you can take action to use this Neuroplasticity to your advantage to develop mental flexibility, change habits, stop procrastination and even alter memories.

Gregory is a psychologist with a Master in communication, specialized in the Neurocognitive and Behavioral Approach. Hes the former Director of the Institute of Neurocognitivism in Brussels (Belgium). He is an expert in brain science and has created this course with a very hands-on approach. He uses every-day language and a lot of humour to make such a complex topic accessible and understandable to anyone. He brings the content in such a way that one can easily use it and apply it in their daily life.

This course explores cutting edge brain research, from enriched environments to implanting memories, over the anatomy of habits. Its packed with following concrete tools that help to apply the research to our lives immediately:

This Course promises to let participants experience neuroplasticity for themselves, helping them to reconnect with what they want in their lives and start making constructive changes towards achieving them.

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Duration : 3 hours on-demand videoRating : 4.7Sign up Here

The aim of this Udemy course is to help you learn faster, remember more and unlock the vast potential of your mind. It focuses on improving your ability to learn new skills, advanced memory techniques and long-term retention and application of the information quickly and effectively.

This course is not the typical speed-reading course that you may have been exposed to. It goes much beyond that and dives into the actual cognitive and neurological factors that make learning easier and more successful with longer retention of the information.

The Course at its core focuses on achieving following three goals and super skills:

Apart from instructional learning, the course includes thorough demonstrations, quizzes, hands-on worksheets, supplemental resources and learning games. It will give you the tools to do rigorous at-home training. The course will require 2-3 hours of memory and speed-reading practice and training per week, and last roughly 7-9 weeks. After completing the course, you will see a comprehensive shift in the way you learn and remember new information. The SuperLearning skills acquired through this course will be applicable to many aspects of your everyday life, from remembering phone numbers to acquiring new skills or even speaking new languages.

This course is for anyone who wishes to learn more effectively, whether its a beginner student or professional or hobbyist or any learner seeking advanced techniques and skills.

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Duration : 5 hours on-demand videoRating : 4.4Sign up Here

With todays fast paced life, most people are struggling to manage work and rest effectively. This course on online learning platform edX aims to help you develop skills that go beyond balance and achieve work-life effectiveness as individuals and as leaders.

This course is part of a Professional Certificate in Inclusive Leadership by Catalyst, the leading non-profit organization that works to accelerate professional progress for women through workplace inclusion. The course focuses on the importance of inclusive leadership in creating flexible and productive work environments. It includes a lot of research and real-world examples from a variety of situations, through which you will learn strategies for managing workplace flexibility. You will be surprised to learn how you have the power as an individual, a team member, or a leader to make positive change. You will understand the value of a flexible work environment and see what sets successful flexible workers and managers apart.

The course material includes video lectures, compelling case studies and short quizzes to build your knowledge in each section. You will have the opportunity to share your experience and involve in discussions with other students on various topics such as communication, technology, myth busting, challenges, and solutions. In the course you will develop a work-life plan for yourself so you can apply the strategies and skills earned in real life to better manage your responsibilities related to work and personal life.

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Duration : 4 weeks, 1-2 hours per weekRating : 4.6Sign up Here

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10 Best Personal Development Courses & Classes Online 2022 - CodeSpaces