Personal development bad habit: being too hard on yourself November 2, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Personal Development Potential.Tags: humility, life, personal growth program, philosophy, self-actualization, self-criticism, writing
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There’s not much use in our diligently following a program of personal growth, if at the same time we are constantly minimizing our accomplishments.
Humility is a desirable personal characteristic to cultivate, but taken too far, unwarranted humility can result in “putting ourselves down”, and subtracting from our self-confidence.
We are all familiar with the egotist, the braggart, the one who’s always right.
These types don’t need a self-actualization program – they are already perfect in every way.
But for the rest of us struggling with reaching our potential with self-improvement in a difficult world, we should not be so critical of ourselves; struggle is part of the human condition.
Nothing new here; just a reminder to show a little kindness.
In this case, to ourselves.
— Dennis Mellersh
Personal growth concept: Making irrevocable decisions October 28, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth.Tags: achieving goals, goal setting, life, making decisions, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, writing
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After the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes reached the New World and decided to invade Mexico (Aztec Empire) in the year 1519 it is said that he burned his ships in order to make the decision to invade virtually impossible to change. (1)
The idea of making a decision completely unchangeable, as Cortes did, however, contains the ingredients for two possible likely outcomes: success or failure. It’s an extreme decision-making approach with virtually no middle ground.
So, maybe not such a a good idea for our self-improvement program.
Making a decision that is totally irrevocable is different from being totally committed to a decision but allowing for the possibility of needing to adapt to changing circumstances.
Tony Robbins suggests that the key to success in making important, and possibly life-altering decisions, is to decide what’s important to you, make that a goal, commit to it, and then take massive action(s) towards making your decision(s) a reality, ideally every day. (2)
Commitment is necessary, but in the majority of cases, doing something radical to make a decision utterly unalterable, could be reckless and result in disaster.
In self-actualization, as in life, moderation and balance, as opposed to extremes, are more likely to result in success.
(1) Actually, he scuttled (sank) them, except for one small ship to be used for communicating with Spain. Furthermore, Cortes was in reality making a decision which was, less for himself, and more on “behalf” of his 800 soldiers, effectively committing them to his plan of conquest
(2) Tony Robbins in his book Notes From a Friend
—Dennis Mellersh
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