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How does the concept of personal development work? April 28, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development.
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Although practising the concept of personal development does have the ability to transform us, it will not bring instant success in helping to make us a better person.

We can be greatly inspired by some personal growth informational materials, but inspiration is something that has to be fed every day by constantly working the principles of self-improvement.

For the large majority of us, our minds and emotions do not have the capability to absorb and implement an entire personal growth program all at once.

Rather it is a step-by-step process, and as such is much more likely to have staying power for our entire lives than would a formula for instant personal change, if such a formula existed.

We may indeed feel we “have seen the light” on reading, listening to, or watching some outstanding self-improvement materials, but for the light to stay “on” we have to work at it on a steady basis.

It’s something like when we studied for exams in school. If we “cram” the knowledge of a course into our heads the night before the test, we can be sure we will have forgotten most of the material a few days after the exam.

If we study the course study materials over an extended period, however, we are much more likely to retain it.

We refer to the “process” of personal development for a reason – because as a process it is ongoing. It is a journey, not a fast path to our desired destination of personal betterment.

As we learn ways to increase our self-knowledge and self-awareness, we gradually pick up more and more ideas and tools with which to reach our objectives.

Gradually, instance by instance, we start to see the world and our place in that world differently. And we are able to react maturely and positively to challenging situations as they arise, by applying the principles we are absorbing each day in our personal growth work.

Then, when we are faced with a difficult circumstance, we remember an idea we have learned and we then successfully apply that idea to the situation. Our work on personal growth thereby becomes proactive and practical in our daily lives rather than just an abstract concept.

Personal growth: A process, not an instant solution April 27, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Personal Development Potential.
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As we work on our personal development and growth programs, we may reach a stage at which we feel we are not moving along fast enough with the changes we would like to make in our lives.

At such a time, we need to remember that the concept of personal development is an ongoing process. It is not meant to be a discipline whereby we read something inspirational and at that point we are immediately transformed.

Part of the process involves studying a lot of printed and online material on the topic of self-improvement and choosing from these materials those ideas and examples which will be the most helpful in each of our individual circumstances, and thereby gradually reaching our potential.

A complex time-intensive process

Critics of the self-actualization movement sometimes say, “If personal development works so well, then why is there always so much new material available and why do people keep reading such information year after year?”

The answer is because the quest of bettering ourselves is complex, and does not lend itself to formulaic packaged, “one-size-fits-all“ solutions. It takes time and a lot of effort to achieve the improved results we want to bring into our lives.

The Chinese sage Confucius reminds of this in the following:

“A boy from Ch’ueh Village had been hired as the Master’s messenger. Asking about him, someone said: ’Is he making progress?’
‘I’ve seen him sit and walk among his elders,’ replied the Master, ‘as if he were already their equal. He has no interest in making progress. He wants it all right now.” (1)
(1) Confucius, The Analects, as translated by David Hinton is his book, The Four Chinese Classics