What Is The Foundation Of Personal Development?
The development of one’s learning, intellect, and memory are all essential building blocks for one’s personal and professional growth. The investigation of the components of each can assist in the identification of productive learning and study habits, the improvement of a number of different aspects of intelligence, and the consolidation of knowledge that has been taught into memory.
What is the main concept of personal development?
What exactly is meant by “personal development”? The process of looking inside and concentrating on methods to improve oneself is known as personal development. Investing in your own personal growth helps you become more self-aware, boosts your self-esteem, expands your skill set, and brings your goals into fruition.
- At BetterUp, we have a strong commitment to the philosophy behind the discipline known as Inner Work®.
- Personal growth may be seen of as a type of “Inner Work” in many respects.
- It is the practice of turning inside in order to accomplish a goal or obtain a result, particularly in the search for clarity, purpose, and passion in one’s life.
The term “personal development” refers to a much broader concept than simply “self-improvement” or “career development.” It extends to every area of your life in which you would like to experience personal development, and it makes no distinctions about the places in which it manifests itself for you.
Who is the founder of personal development?
Growth of the Individual in the Previous Decades – Siddhartha Gautama was born in the sixth century before the common era. Because he was the son of a king, he received everything that his heart could possibly want, including ladies, the finest food and wine, and the most costly clothing.
As a result of the fact that he had very little knowledge of the world outside the walls of the palace until he was in his late 20s, he made the decision one day to examine the town in which he resided. There, he was confronted with the harsh truths of the human existence, such as advancing age, passing away, and experiencing pain.
He was astonished to observe the widespread suffering that was taking place, and as a result, he resolved to find a solution to alleviate it. We are all aware of the conclusion of the narrative. Siddhartha ultimately became known as the Buddha and devoted the remainder of his life to sharing the wisdom he had gained.
- Meditation is the practice that Buddha established to help individuals liberate themselves from the misery they experience in their lives.
- Meditation is a strategy that has been scientifically proved to boost one’s happiness, as well as making them calmer, more grounded, more centered, and more focused.
This is true regardless of whether or not they practice Buddhism. Putting away all of the doctrine that permeates Buddhism, it offers a method that assists you in gaining control over yourself. On the other hand, personal growth was not something that was only taking place in the East; it was also taking place in the West.
The Ancient Greeks and the Process of Personal Growth Even though he was born more than two thousand years ago, the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is considered by many to be the “father” of contemporary personal growth. Eudaimonia might be viewed as “happiness,” “human flourishing,” or “living well,” hence his definition of it was “a category of practical knowledge, where the practice of virtues leads to eudaimonia.” Two thousand years ago, he had already mastered and put into practice the art of self-improvement.
And not only him: Plato, Socrates, Heraclitus, and Plotinus were all on the same path of becoming whole human beings at the same time as him. Check out this quotation from Plotinus: “Take a step back and examine within yourself. And if you do not believe that you are attractive just now, perform like the sculptor does when he is creating a statue that is intended to be beautiful: he removes material here, smooths it there, makes this line lighter, and this other line purer, until a charming face has grown upon his work.
Therefore, you should also do the following: remove everything that is unnecessary, make everything that is crooked straight, shed light on everything that is in the dark, work hard to make everything gleam with beauty, and continue to chisel away at your statue until the godlike splendor of virtue shines out from it onto you and until you can see the perfect goodness that has been surely established in the stainless shrine.” It is as plain as the noonday sun that he was discussing self-mastery and personal growth more than two thousand years ago.
The Romans were yet another ancient culture that placed a strong emphasis on the cultivation of the individual. They came up with a philosophy that later became known as Stoicism. According to this school of thought, “the route to happiness for humans is found in embracing this moment as it presents itself, by not allowing ourselves to be ruled by our desire for pleasure or our dread of suffering.” If this is not an example of self-mastery, then what exactly is it? Personal Development Now! It is not true that self-improvement is a recent fad that will quickly fade away; rather, it has been with us ever since the beginning of civilization.
- Not just in the East with the teaching of Buddha, Confucius, or Yogic philosophy, but also in the West with the teaching of the Greeks and Romans.
- The majority of these long-gone folks possessed incredible levels of wisdom.
- That is to say, they were in charge of their own lives and decisions.
- When people hear the phrase “personal development,” they often think of it as “bullshit” and “cheap psychology,” despite the fact that we respect and adore these individuals and believe that they were the pillars of human knowledge.
But do you see the humor in this situation? We may share passages from Plato or Aristotle on Facebook beneath a photo of you enjoying the beach, but when it comes time to put those philosophers’ lessons into practice, we treat it like it’s just another advertisement.
- Whether or not they are aware of it, every person who has ever lived on this planet has been progressing along the road of evolution.
- We are here to advance, to get better, to realize our potential, to become the greatest version of ourselves, to create, and to enjoy life and all of its facets as much as we possibly can.
And if you are not participating in it, you are passing up a lot of opportunities. You are not experiencing life to the fullest; rather, you are going through the motions, just like the majority of others. I really hope that this is the wake-up call you need.