Personal Development: Closely Delineated

Personal Development: Expanding one’s self: What drives us as human beings? Why do we exist, after all? What exactly do we strive for?

These are the questions one needs to address. These questions act as a throughway in the quest for self-realization and self-fulfillment, which conclusively define personal growth.

Personal development, to explicate in the simplest terms is the pursuit of personal growth, by bettering oneself emotionally, spiritually, and physically. The eventual goal in the process of personal development becomes self-realization. As the term quite well explains itself, it points to realizing oneself, living at the fullest potential, introspecting, which is key to the lock called real happiness.

Parts of Personal Development:

1. Spiritual
   Spiritual and ethical development engenders a concrete foundation for ecstasy. Spiritual growth is all about reaching out to and connecting with one’s inner self. It is about taking up the responsibility for one’s actions. It is a journey of ‘self-discovery’ to lead a balanced and responsible life.

   

   What does life mean to you? What is the purpose of your life? Yes, not every day we pose these questions to ourselves. This is what it is. It is about redefining the sphere of your consciousness. Spiritual development also demands from one to assess their self-concept and enhance this construct, as this plays a crucial role in the attainment of other desirable goals.

2. Physical
   We live in an automated society where most of the activities that require strenuous exertion can be performed by machines with a single pull of a handle or push of a button. And it is not a hidden fact, that most industrialized nations are experiencing an epidemic of physical inactivity. Statistically speaking, in the United States, approximately 300,000 deaths occur annually due to inactivity and poor eating habits.

   You know what they say, “Treat your body like a temple.”

   A human mind works well only when the body is fit. There is an inseparable link between mind and body.

   

   Understanding this very connection is pivotal in order to develop oneself physically. Physical wellbeing is at the center of personal growth and self-actualization.

   Thus, being physically active is crucial to keeping our bodies in top condition. Obtaining an optimal level of physical wellness also allows one to nurture personal responsibility for one’s own health.

3. Emotional
   Emotional wellbeing for a layperson is competences which allow one to flourish, to be as optimal as one could in the core aspects of human functioning. Emotional wellbeing is not about being persistently happy, but it is about being able to bounce back from adversity having quality of resilience and a sense of purpose, that are important constituents of this capacity. Self-regulation and self-control get one going along with an optimistic perspective.
   The construct of emotional wellbeing has been divided into four different components, namely:(i) Awareness:  One needs to have basic qualities of attention. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Therefore, it becomes important to widen the horizon of consciousness.

   (ii) Connection: It is about the emotions that facilitate successful interpersonal interaction emotions like appreciation, compassion, gratitude, etc.

   

   (iii) Insight: This deals with insight into how the self-works. We all carry a certain narrative about ourselves. Developing insight is about establishing a healthy relationship with that narrative.

   (iv) Purpose: This component is about identifying one’s true objective and aligning one’s behavior with that core purpose.

How to go about the conscious pursuit of self-growth?

The journey of melioration requires following certain steps for bettering the self. The process begins from, ‘self-analysis.’

When self-analyzing, one has to keep into consideration three aspects, namely- Physical, Mental, and Living. One has to analyze the current functioning of the body, thoughts, and attitude and then evaluate the relationship between both of them. It also requires maintaining a balance between one’s total character.

The second step is about ‘opening oneself to learning.’ This talks about changing the approach to life, programming the brain to take in information, question things, and make amendments to already existent perspective about life.

The next stage is ‘acceptance.’ One should accept reality, as it would help bridge the gap between what it is and what it can be in the future. From here on, one should move forward with positive changes brought within, and let go of the negative emotions built up.

This would make up room for ‘welcoming change’ with open arms. By taking the course of improvement, one would be able to present itself with the scope of change and development.

The last and the final step in this journey of self-growth is ‘live with purpose.’ Having a well-grounded purpose ensures that one’s life has meaning and holds importance. A strong sense of purpose helps put events into perspective and refocus on life with gusto.

As Dave Hollis rightly said, “Personal development is not for broken people. It is for people who want a better life.” Instead of leaving life upon external factors, one must take in the driver’s seat and handle the steering wheel of life on its own and learn to live purposefully. One should be the protagonist of its own life.

Written by Palomi Gupta. Have you read?

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