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Personal growth: Evolving from intention to doing April 24, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Goal Setting and Realization.
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In our pursuit of improving ourselves through the principles of personal growth, we sometimes need to remind ourselves that achieving something we want requires more than good intentions and the study of principles.

It requires changing our mental approach and transmuting aspiration/intention into a concrete goal.

And, as we know, achieving a goal requires action – often a lot of action.

Especially if the goal involves significantly improving our personal status or well-being; or achieving a major lifetime objective.

In many ways, this is what the concept of personal development is all about – realizing our potential by using a programmed and action-oriented approach that converts desire into reality.

The ancient Chinese sage Confucius brings this to our attention with two suggestions:

“Don`t worry if you have no position: worry about making yourself worthy of one.”

And;

“Don’t worry if you aren’t known and admired: devote yourself to a life that deserves admiration.” (1)

In other words, if we want to make a difference in our lives, we have to put in the work.

(1) Confucius, Analects, as translated and interpreted by David Hinton in his book, The Four Chinese Classics

 

Personal development: Trusting our natural abilities April 21, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Concept of personal growth.
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The concept of personal growth does not necessarily mean that we have to improve virtually every area of our lives and personalities.

Each of us unique talents and abilities, and these strengths may be solid enough, without significant improvement, to serve as a strong foundation for our overall program.

A few examples of innate strengths

  • We may have a strong sense of compassion, a quality which can help us in our efforts to build better relationships
  • Our self-knowledge may already be well developed, and we can use this attribute to help us make decisions on which of our personality characteristics may need more work
  • If we have good self-esteem we have an effective tool to help us avoid discouragement with the inevitable slow spots or bumps in our self-improvement efforts
  • If we are analytical and logical in our approach to problems, we can use this characteristic in the difficult challenge of learning to manage our emotions
  • If we have a strong sense of purpose, we can use that skill to better identify goals and be consistent in our pursuit of achieving them

To move forward with energy in our self-actualization efforts, we should trust in these collective capabilities because, combined with a positive mental outlook, they can help us achieve success.

Don Juan Matus, in one of his “conversations” with Carlos Castaneda commented, “Trust your personal power. That’s all one has in this whole mysterious world.”

Then speaking of the warrior class, he added, “A warrior is impeccable when he trusts his personal power regardless of whether it is small or enormous.” (1)

(1) Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda,  Washington Square Press, Pocket Books, New York, 1974, pp. 167-168