Personal Development
Personal development is largely "personal".
It represents an approach we make to ourselves for growth and development, a process of gaining self-awareness, developing talents, and aspiring to a high-quality life.
Personal development can be summarized as a two-step process.
The first stage includes conventional self-actualization goals, such as developing self-awareness and identity, acquiring specialized knowledge, and cultivating personal potential.
Stage two then requires the critical transition to reach beyond ourselves (self-transcendence), spread our enthusiasm to the wider community, and enrich the experiences of others. In this sense, personal development is far from personal.
Treat personal development as an approach to life.
We often "work" on our personal development in our spare time: we attend inspirational seminars, read other people's success stories, or browse personal development literature. However, the day-to-day application of these passive and safe behaviors helps us nurture and experience personal growth. Stepping out and offering our talents, sharing our skills and knowledge, and making a difference in the lives of others are the essential action steps that make our personal development count.
Become the best version of you.
This bold statement requires our continued motivation for generosity, integrity, and fairness, especially when our spirits are low and competition is tough. Be honest. How often have you found yourself doing one or more of the following: have you hidden ideas from others? Did you not compliment a colleague's achievements because you wanted to do the project yourself? Or do you fail to convey all the information to limit the success of others? These behaviors are signs of fear and envy. They are useless, because ideas only come to life through communication and action. Also, compliments and encouragement not only energize others, they also increase your own visibility. Giving these encouragements and promoting others are acts of self-improvement and will go a long way toward enhancing your personal growth.
You have the courage to take actions that exceed the expectations of others.
Following rules and standards are safe ways to approach any task, job, or service we do for others. It helps us meet expectations. But they are also the surest paths to mediocrity and wasted talent. Make a conscious decision to put your passion into everything you do, and make it a habit to let your work reflect high self-worth. Exceeding expectations will allow you to perceive the efforts of your own personal development, while also making yourself indispensable.
Maintain a service-oriented mindset.This step is particularly important and may be the most difficult to accomplish. We tend to become complacent with our achievements and gravitate toward maintaining the status quo. However, society's needs and trends are constantly changing, which requires us to rethink solutions and remain innovative. Maintaining a service-oriented mindset requires flexibility.
Ask "How can I be of service?" and thus you adapt to the needs of the ever-changing environment and overcome stagnation. This not only ensures continued personal growth, but keeps the application useful and immediate to real-life problems.
