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Personal growth as a practical belief system April 17, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Success.
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As a student and practitioner of personal development you are aware of the criticism leveled at self-improvement by some writers who regard the movement as a fuzzy concept of vague intentions that produces difficult-to-measure results.

However, your own experience has shown this view to be erroneous. You have seen the changes in your life brought about by your study and applications of the principles of self-development.

Overall you have strong faith or belief that the personal growth movement is actually a practical applications system producing tangible improvements, rather than being an impractical concept based on wishful thinking.

Conscientious students of self-improvement operate with a belief system in which the following concepts are considered to be true:

  • There is significant potential for improvement in people’s value systems, lives, and actions
  • Increased self-awareness can lead to the betterment of our own life and the lives of those around us
  • Increasing self-knowledge is important if we are to understand our own life-performance and the actions and motivations of others
  • Without self-actualization there is little we can do to understand or help others
  • Developing purpose for ourselves unlocks many keys to growth
  • Effective personal growth requires a skill set that can be studied and learned
  • Developing our personal strengths and talents is a duty we owe ourselves
  • Managing our emotions is one of the keys to a less stressful and more rewarding life
  • Building our own self esteem helps us increase our empathy towards other people
  • Achieving personal growth with humility enables us to help others through our actions and example
  • People can change their behaviour and thought processes or patterns and thereby move onto a more productive and rewarding emotional and intellectual plane

As Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

Shift focus away from the problem/solution paradigm April 16, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Fear and Anxiety, Solving Problems.
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The usual adage in personal growth writing on problem solving is that success is more likely if we shift the bulk of our attention to the potential solution(s) instead of fretting about the problem.

However, perhaps we should consider focusing on neither the problem nor on the possible solution. Both are intertwined in the problem-solving paradigm, and both focus-approaches are non-productive and limiting.

At least, that is my interpretation of a suggestion made by Dr. Richard Carlson, who comments that by obsessing about the problem/solution combination, we are engaging in an intellectual and emotional approach that is counterproductive.

Why? This idea seems counterintuitive.

Because, Carlson says, obsessing about the problem and by implication its solution, we create anxiety and stress and thereby a state-of-mind which is not conducive to clear thinking and finding a way out of whatever difficulties we are facing. Obsessing affects our overall mood negatively and gets in the way of finding answers.

The key, Carlson says lies in “not focusing on the problems, not giving them the energy and attention they need to grow in our minds, making them seem worse. We do this not to avoid facing the problems, but to make room for solutions to grow.” (1)

(1) You Can Be Happy No Matter What, Dr. Richard Carlson, New World Library, Novato, California.