Personal growth: Desiring what we have not yet earned April 11, 2018
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.Tags: Confucius, David Hinton, inspiration, life, personal development ideas, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, The Four Chinese Classics, writing
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If we have not yet been promoted to the job we want, if we can’t seem to reach the goal we are working on, if our life in general is not all that we want it to be, if we are generally dissatisfied with the progress we are making in our personal growth goals, Confucius reminds us that perhaps we need to invest more effort into what we seek.
Confucius in the Analects:
“The Master said, ‘Don’t worry if you have no position: worry about making yourself worthy of one. Don’t worry if you aren’t known and admired: devote yourself to a life that deserves admiration.’” (1)
(1) As translated by David Hinton in his book, The Four Chinese Classics
Personal growth: Confucius on the self-improvement of leaders September 21, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth.Tags: Confucius, inspiration, life, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, self-improvement, writing
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If we aspire to being a good example to others within our sphere of influence, particularly if we are in a position of potential leadership, we obviously need to develop an overall personal character worthy of receiving respect.
Confucius teaches this lesson in The Analects by referring to the behaviour of rulers and the consequences of their behaviour.
“A ruler who has rectified himself never gives orders, and all goes well. A ruler who has not rectified himself gives orders, and the people never follow them.” (1)
If we look at the idea of rectifying oneself from a personal behaviour point of view, Confucius would have us correct ourselves by working at removing the erroneous or faulty aspects within our patterns of behaviour.
(1) As translated by David Hinton in his book, The Four Chinese Classics.
—Dennis Mellersh
Personal Development Ideas 