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Evaluating the programs of personal growth experts April 30, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Concept of personal growth.
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As we work on various ways to increase our satisfaction with our life situation, many of us reach a stage where we begin to think more critically or analytically about the concepts and programs offered by those people considered to be experts or authorities in the field of personal development.

If you are at this stage, here are seven questions you might want to consider investigating:

(1) Is the program or basic theory being offered a practical approach to actually improving the areas in your life in which you want to see better results? Or do the suggested principles of the program seem to you to be overly vague and hard to pin down?

(2) Do you agree with the basic principles or underlying assumptions of the improvement program being suggested? Or would you have to “force” yourself to act on these principles without really believing in them?

(3) Do the personal improvement techniques being suggested by the expert depend for success on a faith-based or religious set of operating principles? If so, can you accept these principles?

(4) Does the expert’s public personal life-behaviour history reflect the principles outlined in their theories? If not, can you still follow and try to implement the ideas of this expert, despite this inconsistency?

(5) In the case of personal growth experts discussing mental health from a medical perspective and offering advice, do they have the necessary medical educational credentials to warrant them being considered an authority?

(6) Is the program or plan easy to understand with straightforward implementation steps? Is the program believable in its claims?

(7) Do the theories, concepts, and ideas expressed by the authority/expert mesh with your own value system?

Finally, it can be helpful to find out what other people think of the ideas offered by the expert you are considering following. One of the ways to discover this is by looking for third-party unbiased online reviews, criticism and articles about the expert and their personal growth informational materials.

Personal growth: Self-awareness, imagination, optimism April 26, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth, Personal Development Potential.
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As a person who is seriously interested in, and is studying the concept of personal growth and development and applying its principles, you possess four key enabling characteristics:

(1) Intuitive self-awareness
(2) A desire to learn
(3) A sense of optimism
(4) A well-developed imagination

Self-awareness

You have arrived at the discipline of self-improvement with a realistic sense of your own capabilities, strengths and weaknesses.

You have definite ideas on the areas of your life you would like to improve.

And this is an intuitive perception. You have not turned to personal development because someone else has told you to do so – you have decided yourself that it is a project worthy of your attention.

A Desire to learn

Your realization that there are areas for improvement in your life, coupled with your strong desire for self-actualization, acts as a strong incentive for wanting to thoroughly  investigate the concepts and principles of self-improvement, to find out what is involved, and to put the principles into practice.

Optimism

Although you are well aware there are negative personal attitudes, emotions, and behaviours that you would like to modify or correct, you have a strong sense of possibility that you can do this successfully.

You are not a day dreamer; rather, you are optimistic that you will achieve the goals you plan in your personal growth program.

A productive imagination

Most important, perhaps, is your ability to imagine, or visualize positive outcomes through your study and application of the principles of self-improvement.

Outcomes such as:

  • Better control of your emotions
  • Developing independent thinking patterns
  • Improving your inter-personal relations with other people
  • Creating a heightened sense of purpose for yourself
  • Achieving greater integrity in your thinking and in your actions
  • Increasing your abilities in certain areas
  • Gaining a greater sense of who your are (1)

 

(1) Outcomes paraphrased from Arthur Chickering`s concept: The Seven Vectors of Personal Development.