The Wiki has it described like this: Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitate employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. The concept is not limited to self-help but includes formal and informal activities for developing others in roles such as teacher, guide, counselor, manager, life coach or mentor.
Okay, so what? You may say, "well I'm not a crunchy tree-hugging self-help motivational groupie". No, my dear, that's the stereotype. We've reached a point where admitting that we read a "self-help" book is embarrassing, but it shouldn't be! Every single person needs time and opportunity to be able to improve, grow and reach more self-awareness. I do believe the reason many more individuals seek mental therapy than ever before is that as a society, we aren't proactive....we wait until the you-know-what hits the fan before we stop and realize we played a huge part in the why and how. Of course, once that happens, then folks need to talk it out and come to some conclusions and sometimes, with not only talking but with pills as well. We've all heard of the tragic stories that result from an equation of mental health issues and pills, or lack thereof. We don't want to go there, so let's go back to Personal Development and how it can help you.
If you're a wife, have you ever read a book or article, whether humorous or helpful, that left you feeling understood and lifted up in your marriage? Maybe you shared it with others, maybe you discussed it with your spouse or maybe it was just a few minutes of you reading alone, food for thought. If it added value to your life in just a tiny way, then it would be classified as Personal Development. It allowed you to tap into your self....to become more aware of your relationship and the role you play...and hopefully, taught you a thing or two about how you can look at your situation going forward. You are personally developing your sense of self.
Here's another example: As a soon-to-be parent, you accept advice from many well-meaning parents already "in the trenches" of parenthood. They want to share their wisdom and keep you from re-inventing the wheel. You're not sure who to believe and no one quite fits exactly your specific "style"...so you decide to do your own parenting research. Maybe you believe in attachment parenting or a more traditional approach than your friends. Your ultimate goal is to be the best parent that YOU can be for your child..so you read, research and strive to improve your current thinking and prepare yourself for the new joy of your life. That's Personal Development too.
I'm sure you know some people who get up early in the morning to exercise before getting on with their day. In this case, their Personal Development is more physical rather than mental, but in my opinion it still counts. But let's take it a step further. They may listen to music while they work out and music is great for the soul. Many become more energized, uplifted, positive and happier while listening to music. That is truly a great thing. But maybe they listen to a podcast of a successful entrepreneur telling the story of how he or she became such a success. They may come away with new ideas, the imagination churning away, and definitely intrigued by the possibilities of "what if I did...." That's great!
With Personal Development, often I hear people say "but I don't have time for that nonsense. I don't have time to do nothing." It's not "nothing" if you are improving on you! Are YOU, "nothing"?? Do you want to be exactly the same, in exactly the same place you were weeks, months or even years ago? The truly lost and unhappy are those people that never strive for better days and a better version of themselves. As a society, we are mentally very weak and don't stretch and challenge that muscle in order to examine ourselves closely and strengthen our weak points and embrace our strong points. In all of our relationships, we continue to change over time but how much better would it be if we did it consciously and in a positive progression? Our relationships would only thrive!
When you are looking for time to incorporate some Personal Development, always remember to combine a meaningless activity with a mindful one.
Here are some examples of combining meaningless with mindful:
- washing dishes and listening to a podcast
- taking a shower and listening to a sermon
- folding clothes and listening to an interview with an influential and positive role model
- mending some clothes and watching a positive, uplifting program
- taking quiet time with your breakfast and read devotions or a few pages of a book you've been meaning to get through
- instead of hitting that snooze a few more times, wake up and wash up and then pray or meditate and center yourself before starting your day
-sitting in traffic and listening to an audio book
These are just some examples but you know your lifestyle and schedule, your individual tastes and what appeals and would benefit your life. Remember, add value to your life. Purpose to set aside time every day..yes, every. day. We should all be exercising our bodies every day. We should be doing the same with exercising our minds and spirits as well. We don't do enough of any of these...but we can always improve and strive to be better today than we were yesterday.
