Personal Development Ideas

Are you needlessly postponing your dreams because of your personal growth program? February 24, 2014

In our efforts to maximize our personal development potential we can sometimes fall into the trap of over-prioritizing to the point where our personal growth efforts become unbalanced. This can ha ppen, for example, if we put too much stress, or the wrong emphasis, on the benefits of the concept of delayed gratification – denying ourselves something pleasurable or enjoyable now, for a greater benefit in the future.

Clearly it is better to forgo having that large chocolate sundae now for the future benefit of a healthier body. Similarly it’s probably a good idea to avoid that second latte every day, or other indulgences, in order to put aside some money for a “rainy day” fund for unanticipated expenses, or for a future holiday you would like to have with your family.

However, it’s not necessarily a good idea to constantly future-forward a dream you would like to follow, in order to instead practice today some element of your personal growth program.

To avoid what we might call dream-procrastination, the key is balance.

If, for example you have intellectual development, say reading a significant book, for example, as part of your daily personal growth program, and you also have a dream about writing a book, why not start writing your book a few days each week, in place of reading a book on those days.

Taking time now to pursue your dreams-for-the-future is just as important, if not more so, than daily over-emphasizing and committing too much time to an abstract concept of personal development.   Practising delayed gratification of our dreams can hit us hard emotionally when we reach that stage in life when we suddenly realize that there is no longer time to realize and enjoy those dreams.