Personal development: The importance and the limitations of hope December 23, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development.Tags: achieving goals, Eric Hoffer, Hope, inspiration, personal growth, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, writing
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Personal development: The importance and the limitations of hope
We are often told of the importance of the concept or quality of hope to the human spirit; but is hope enough to carry us through difficult times, or do we need to cultivate an additional personal characteristic?
The philosopher Eric Hoffer has the following to say about “hope”:
“There is no hope without self-delusion, while courage is sober and sees things as they are. Hope is perishable, while courage is long-lived. It is easy in an outburst of hope to start a difficult undertaking, but it takes courage to bring it to a conclusion.”
For “hope” we could substitute enthusiasm, and for “courage” persistence.
A high state of excitement or enthusiasm can be difficult to sustain over a long period of work.
We might be excited, optimistic and initially highly enthused about learning how to write poetry, to learn a difficult new skill, or to start a challenging self-improvement program, but we will need a drip-drip-drip* approach to get it done, and that requires persistence, or the ability to “stick with it.”
* Drip-drip-drip is Seth Godin’s metaphor for the approach needed to accomplish long-term goals.
— Dennis Mellersh
Personal development: Aging and the evolution of ambition November 26, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development.Tags: achieving goals, Henry David Thoreau, life, personal development potential, personal growth, personal improvement, philosophy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, writing
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It seems almost axiomatic that the big dreams of our youth diminish in scope and change as we become older.
Some people acquire a firm, fixed sense of purpose, a grand vision, early in life and don’t let go or change that purpose or vision until it is achieved.
Example: A childhood friend at age ten tells us that they are going to be a doctor specializing in brain surgery. And, they ultimately achieve that ambition.
For many of us however our dreams, our sense of purpose and our goals are in flux with the passing years. As noted by Henry David Thoreau:
“The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or a temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.”(1)
It is hard not to admire the friend who is undeviatingly dedicated and successful with their stated childhood dream, but the person whose dreams and aspirations change throughout the twists and turns of life might be more interesting and profitable for us to talk to.
(1) Henry David Thoreau, as quoted by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the book Selections from Ralph Waldo Emerson: An Organic Anthology, Riverside Editions, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1960.
— Dennis Mellersh
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