jump to navigation

Personal growth: Our past does not equal our future May 20, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth, Living in the Now.
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
add a comment

One of the impediments to effectively implementing our personal growth and development programs can be the way we look at our past, and the attributes we apply to our past behaviour.

The past can be a barrier to forward progress in self-improvement if we look at it through a pessimistic and fatalistic perspective.

We might view the past and its problems as a negative indicator of how things will be in the future.

We might look at our past and fill our minds with regret of what we did or didn’t do.

We might negatively assess our entire personality based on our past.

One conclusion is inescapable; our past behaviour does affect our present and future circumstances.

However, can can’t un-do the past. We can only work in the present to build a positive outcome for the future.

In his book, Notes From a Friend, Tony Robbins makes a significant and carefully worded statement about the past and the future:
“Remember that what you did in the past does not determine what you’ll do in the future.”

In other words, we may not be able to change what we did in the past or its influence on our lives today, but we can change how we will act, what we will do, in the future.

In his comment Robbins is emphasising that behavioural change is possible, that our actions now can positively affect our future; that our past behaviour pattern does not have to be our future behaviour pattern.

We can’t un-ring a bell, but we can ring a new bell.

Positive thinking versus negative thinking.

Personal development: Take ownership of your individual growth discoveries March 5, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development.
Tags: , , , , , ,
add a comment

In developing the potential of your personal growth program(s) to higher levels, you might want to start paying attention to your own self-generated creative ideas on the general topic of self-improvement.

Because personal development is as much about the journey as it is about reaching the destination, you are bound to have creative reactions and make personal discoveries as you travel the road of your specific program.

This is particularly true when you are focussed on achieving internal improvement rather than being focused on external practical skills development, such as learning how to play a particular musical instrument, for example.

As you study personal growth materials in more and more detail, you will find that you may not agree with everything you read. Or you may discover that you have a “different take” or an entirely new approach concerning a recommendation, or a general principle suggested by one  or more personal growth writers.

It is important to write your ideas down, such as in a notebook, and to review them from time. Gradually you may find that this helps you to personalize your growth program, which is important.

One size does not fit all within the concepts and teachings suggested in self-improvement materials.