Why is personal growth necessary and what is it?

Personal growth is a mandatory process of self-improvement of an individual, a purposeful movement and the desire of the subject to embody in reality the person he would ideally like to be (“ideal self”). All factors, conditions, opportunities that bring him closer to achieving his goal are personal growth, which is one of the main and most significant meanings of an individual’s life. With the help of this process, a person is able to change himself, any character traits in the direction he needs, eliminate complexes, learn to control the manifestation of emotions, and get rid of negative thoughts. Personal growth is different for each subject, since the ideas about their ideal “I” are completely different for all individuals.

Personal growth - what is it?

Personal growth can be called a constant and continuous process of self-development, thanks to which a person upgrades himself, develops certain qualities, achieves his goals, and also increases the quality of life and the level of satisfaction with it. Realizing your own potential allows you to do what you love and live a bright, rich life.

By working on ourselves, we form a new world around us. But the whole path will definitely not be simple and cloudless.

Personal growth is a kind of challenge, a test of strength. You can overcome the difficulties that arise only thanks to your inner core and strength.

That is why self-development requires maximum time and diligence. And you shouldn’t think that once you reach a certain stage, you can stop. The world is changing, so in order to grow, you need to constantly upgrade yourself. It may seem like it's too complicated. But rest assured, your work will bring tangible results.

Conclusion

Why is personal growth needed? To become an individual, to have your own independent point of view, to develop and achieve your goals. The peaks love brave conquerors. And even if these are not big peaks to begin with, but for them you need to be brave enough and ready to face obstacles on your way. Personal growth criteria will help you accept and understand many moments in your life; they need to be constantly developed and supported.

Only then will you be able to understand all your weaknesses, find places where you stumble and correct what prevented you from achieving what you want. Life doesn't change with a snap of your fingers, it takes a lot of time and work. Personal growth will help not only in self-development, but also in the growth of your professionalism.

The process of self-development will help you find pleasure in what you do, teach you to be strong and courageous, and find loopholes in any life tasks. This is a great opportunity to learn to perceive the world not as a bag of continuous problems, but as a space of limitless possibilities.

Psychology of personal growth

Modern psychology can give many definitions of personal development. However, no matter what it is called (growth, reaching a new level, pumping, etc.), the essence of such changes is the same. Self-development is a tangible and visible transformation of a person, increasing his potential, and unlocking internal resources.

You may not even know which path has been taken, but the metamorphoses that occur to a person are always visible to the naked eye. Personal development allows you to become a full-fledged master of your own life, it opens up new facets of personality, and literally enriches your inner world. The main characteristics of this process of change include its focus, activity and scale.

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The topic of personal growth is often explored in literary works. For example, the famous Russian psychologist V.L. Levi in ​​the book “Where to Live. Man in the Chains of Freedom” said the following about this: “What is personal growth? If a person has more: interests - and therefore incentives to live, meaningful fulfillment of life; the ability to analyze - to distinguish one from another; the ability to synthesize—to see connections between events and phenomena; understanding people (including yourself) - and with that the ability to forgive; internal freedom and independence - responsibility taken on voluntarily; love for the world and people (including oneself), this means that a person grows personally. Synonyms: mentally, spiritually.”

To finally understand what self-development means, it is enough to analyze the personal growth courses and business trainings that are so popular today. The latter are aimed at acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary for business development. That is, participants receive and implement ideas that allow them to take their own business to a new level, but their personality does not change in any way. At a business training, a person learns how to increase sales, how to properly present a product, how to optimize processes within a company, etc. But this knowledge is unlikely to make you think about your own values, the meaning of life, relationships, etc. Such events improve professional skills , but do not in any way relate to issues of personal growth.

Self-development courses differ significantly from business training. First of all, growth trainings are aimed at transforming a person’s personality. As part of these events, the problems, fears, beliefs and views of the participants are explored. Moreover, the format of such meetings can be quite diverse. But ultimately, personal growth training allows you to get rid of existing complexes, psychological trauma, resentment and mental anguish.

Personal development courses focus on challenges and opportunities rather than problems. For example, instead of worrying about a situation, think about options for resolving it. If you are afraid, stop making up excuses and justifications - take responsibility for your life and find your own motivation for new achievements. Distrustful introverts need to learn to see the good in people and stop shutting them out. Those who want to live a bright and fulfilling life do not need to try to break patterns - just take a creative approach to solving daily problems.

As you can see, personal and professional growth are significantly different. People come to self-development trainings with completely different needs. But in the process of working on oneself comes awareness or rethinking of one’s own life views, values, and meanings.

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Unlike business training, where everything can be measured with numbers, percentages and indicators, personal growth courses are subjective. The results of self-development depend on who evaluates them, how the changes occurring are understood, and what attention is focused on. Moreover, these criteria are perceived differently among existing schools and movements, people of different genders, temperaments, psychotypes, etc. For example, a man’s personal growth implies the achievement of goals that can be clearly assessed and measured. And the self-development of the beautiful half of humanity is rather intangible. It is impossible to calculate how much a woman has changed. However, the ongoing metamorphoses are always visible both to herself and to those around her.

What prevents us from growing?

American psychologist Carl Rogers in 1959 answered the question of what human personal growth is. He identified the general “law of personal growth” based on the “if-then” formula. It sounds like this: if the necessary conditions exist, then the process of self-development is actualized in a person, that is, changes aimed at his personal maturity. Today, this concept is most often associated with career growth - the shortest and most effective path to acquiring opportunities.

However, on this path we are rarely sprinters: we move slowly, with stops, distracted by unimportant activities. This is the main reason why our English is still not very good - however, like other useful skills.

We are afraid of responsibility

There is the theory of “Locus of Control” by J. Rotter. The psychologist considers two types of responsibility:

1. Internals. They believe that they themselves are responsible for everything that happens in their lives;
2. Externals. They abdicate responsibility, believing that their lives are controlled by other people and external circumstances.

As in other classifications, there are no pure types here. You can determine your type using the same test by J. Rotter.

By and large, it is easier for internals to “grow” themselves, because they set personal growth goals for themselves and achieve them. It’s more difficult for externals; proper motivation is important to them. In general, it won’t hurt internals either. Here are the main points that will help you achieve high quality personal growth. Tyler Tervooren , founder of the motivational portal for introverts Riskology advises to rely on them :

1. Evaluate the feeling of what you have done, not the appearance of the result;
2. Learn to enjoy the process;
3. Push yourself. If the result is really cool, but the path to it is boring, then act through force;
4. Focus on consistency, not results.

Personal growth and development: what's the difference?

Many people confuse these concepts. And how we build the improvement of our personality depends on them. Growth is an increase in internal potential, quantitative changes, and development is the result of external influence, qualitative changes. When a child is born, he is small and cannot walk. Within a year he becomes taller, heavier and begins to walk. This is the development of personal growth. As he grows up, he learns to think, communicate correctly with peers and with adults. This is personality development. For a better understanding, here is a comparison table:

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Personal growth goals

Although personal growth is aimed at working out internal aspects, it is necessarily reflected in the outside world. One of the most striking signs of development is the realization by a person of his own plans. Mobilization of internal resources allows you to achieve your goals in an environmentally friendly way, without harming other people.

However, you can look at it from the other side. The process of personal growth cannot be imagined without setting appropriate goals. In fact, the desire to become better is already an independent intention. That is, following a certain goal ensures human development, and vice versa. But sometimes the plans outlined do not require the development of personal qualities. Then self-development acts as a basis that helps to achieve success in this matter.

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For example, if a person needs to improve the skill of persuasion, he does not need to develop any moral qualities. But in many trainings, learning this ability will be presented as personal growth. Depending on what is meant by development, improving this skill will or will not constitute personal growth.

If the ability to persuade is one of the conditions for the formation of an integral and harmonious personality, development must occur in accordance with certain principles. If a person defends his own point of view, resorting to manipulation, intimidation and pressure, this has nothing to do with self-improvement.

As already mentioned, personal growth is inextricably linked with the principle of environmental friendliness. In this context, the ends do not justify the means at all, especially if the methods used may harm others.

For example, if a person plans to open his own business, then his goal is to launch this project. It should be remembered that business is impossible without customers. This means that you need to pay attention not only to ways to promote the product, but also to its quality. The goal of a business should be to sell a truly necessary and high-quality product, and not simply make a profit. Personal growth in this case will be conducting honest and decent business activities. To do this, it is enough not to deceive your customers: sell products with a good shelf life, do not pass off a fake as an original, speak openly about all the characteristics of the product, etc.

And the very idea of ​​a future business project should be environmentally friendly. It's no secret that today there are plenty of fly-by-night companies that disappear with the money of customers or partners. Yes, this is also a business, but it has nothing to do with moral development.

It turns out that personal growth must meet certain conditions. It is not enough to simply improve a skill; you must constantly work on your character and values.

Let's move on to affirmations

If we take the technical “underlying” of various methodological actions for self-improvement, then it is better to highlight the general trends.

It is believed that certain recitatives contribute to the development of self-discipline necessary to improve the quality of life. It is human nature to use verbal tools for spiritual self-affirmation. This has historical roots. Take witchcraft spells or methods of reading religious texts with persistent repetition.

Affirmations are phrases or sentences that are deliberately positive and benevolent in content and are designed to be repeated multiple times. Unlike mantras, such phrases are not intended to resonate with the energy zones of the body.

However, when approaching the composition of affirmations, many individual data must be taken into account. First of all, they must contain a sincere, trusting meaning. The words chosen should be symbolic and meaningful for a particular person.

Phrases should be composed concisely, without long words and complex formulations. So that when pronouncing them, no images arise that lead away from the main content. Saying such phrases should be simple and interesting in its own way.

Affirmations are a tool for semantic adjustment of subconscious thinking. They harbor a desire to overcome the negativity of doubt, fear, and unfriendliness. They can be considered as a necessary psycho-emotional attitude.

Sayings used by theater students to improve their diction can be compared to affirmations. Only in our case, a certain stream of consciousness is subject to training, which we associate with personal growth.

It is interesting that, continuing the analogy with affirmations, a symbiosis of chants and slogans seems to be a successful comparison. The value of these laconic verbal forms lies in the power of their semantic load.

Repeated expressions are the shortest way to stimulate readiness for positive life changes.

Where to start your personal growth and self-development

Self-improvement is a labor-intensive process aimed at working out the weaknesses of the individual, realizing one’s own potential and normalizing health. To reach a new level, it is enough to follow simple but effective rules.

1. Know Yourself Self-knowledge is a prerequisite for personal growth.
   To evaluate the results of your own work, you need to understand where you are starting from at the moment. It is important to accept your strengths and weaknesses, temperamental characteristics, values ​​and guidelines. It is also worth paying attention to how you contact the outside world and react to its manifestations. There are several ways to get closer to understanding your essence. Meditation, journaling, working with mood - each of these methods is effective. But real transformation begins when you find what lights you up, what makes you happy. If you want serious changes, turn to your own desires and dreams. Ask what kind of life your actions today will lead to. Are you happy with your current reality? How do you want to be remembered by this world? Think about it seriously to formulate a list of true goals.
2. Take responsibility for your own life and actions
   Almost every time when all plans collapse, we complain about fate and blame others for our failures. Even if the situation seems out of control, do not rush into victim mode. Of course, not everything in this world depends on us; the environment can really have a significant impact on our lives. However, it is worth remembering that the last word is always yours. If there is no option to change the situation, you can reconsider your attitude towards it. This is the secret of transforming your own personality.
3. Develop a Self-Improvement Strategy

   Setting goals is one of the most important stages for upcoming changes.
   But in order to implement your plans, you need to understand what path you will have to go through. The most obvious and simple solution in this case is to create a plan to achieve your goals. Analyze your own aspirations, break all the work into small stages and decide what steps and actions you need to take. For example, you want to build a successful career, but at the moment you are working in a job you don’t like. You can take it to the next level with these steps:

   • First of all, understand in which direction you want to realize yourself.

   • Having decided on a profession, clarify what knowledge and skills are necessary for this activity.

   • Receive appropriate training.

   • Create a new resume that presents you as a competent specialist.

   • Check out existing vacancies and respond to the most interesting offers.

   • Once you find a job, quit your previous job.

   • Demonstrate and prove yourself in your new position.

   • Improve yourself in your chosen field and climb the career ladder.

4. Expand the boundaries of your own comfort zone

   The concept of “comfort zone,” as well as “personal growth,” is familiar to almost everyone. This is a certain way of life in which a person avoids risk and stressful situations by performing familiar and ordinary actions. This is not to say that this level is bad. From time to time we all need a quiet environment to relax and recharge.

   Almost everyone says that leaving your comfort zone is useful for self-development. You need to challenge, take on your own fears, take risks, test your strength. Sometimes the thought of making such changes can be scary, let alone taking action.

   The sooner you think about personal development, the easier it is to get out of your usual routine. As you age, it is more difficult to change yourself, which means taking new actions is much more scary.

   Despite all calls, you should not leave your comfort zone. Try to gradually expand its boundaries. Try something new or change the way you approach your daily routine. Take small but confident steps towards your own goals.

   Be prepared for the fact that you will begin to sabotage your own changes. People often convince themselves that nothing will work out without even trying. We are afraid and doubtful, forbidding ourselves in advance to even dream of a new life. If you encounter this, change your focus. Try to understand what exactly is stopping you, why you look at the situation only from this angle. After that, turn to what inspires you to achieve, and step by step move towards your goals.

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5. Form effective habits
   For this rule, the following saying is more relevant than ever: “When you sow an action, you reap a habit.” If you sow a habit, you will reap a character. If you sow character, you will reap destiny.” Indeed, our habits shape the existing reality. Useful and correct patterns allow you to grow and develop; harmful customs, on the contrary, worsen the quality of life. Changing habits is quite difficult, because they take years to form. But, if you really want to reach a new level, mobilize all your internal resources and move forward with strong will.

To put all these rules into practice, do the following:

• Keep a personal diary. Try to write down the brightest moments, significant events, interesting discoveries, thoughts and insights every day.
• Create a bank of ideas. Good thoughts come and leave your head completely unexpectedly. Record everything that seems interesting to you, without evaluating the practical side of the idea that has arisen. Literally write everything down. After a while, refer to your storage, analyze the direction of your notes. Perhaps it is this area of ​​life that needs to be worked on.
• Enter into dialogue with yourself. You can call this practice meditative, since here the subconscious is involved in the work. Give yourself 15–20 minutes so that no one disturbs you and nothing distracts you from the exercise. Take a comfortable position, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing, try to feel every inhalation and exhalation. When you are completely relaxed, ask yourself questions. What do I really want? What should I be like to achieve what I want? What should I do? Repeat the questions mentally, then again concentrate on your breathing and relax. As a rule, the subconscious mind joins the process after a few days. The brain begins to produce interesting ideas that are necessary in this situation. All that remains is to write down and rethink the information received.

The above practices allow you to reach a new level of personal development. By understanding and being aware of your desires, you can form true goals and think through ways to achieve them.

How to change yourself

• You need to change your thoughts.

Reading books and working with a psychologist, you can remain in a state for a long time that “everything is clear.” But you also need to take and take action regarding these changes yourself. You don't need to think, but do everything physically.

• You can't do without positivity

Everything you do must be done with a positive attitude. If every time you say that “I can’t”, “I can’t do this”, “this is hard”, then you will never move forward. A positive attitude and desire are required. Be sure to monitor your negative thoughts and change them into a positive mindset.

However, we should understand that not everything will work out the way we want. Something will not go at all as we planned. But even in this case, you shouldn’t despair and give up everything. We need to move on.

What do I want to change by engaging in self-development and personal growth?

It's worth asking yourself a few questions:

• What do I want to start doing?

For example, learn to swim or ride a bike. Or maybe learn to set goals and plan.

• What do I want to stop doing?

For example, working at a job you don’t like, or maybe smoking, engaging in idle pastimes and watching endless TV series.

• What would you like to buy?

Some people want to acquire new skills, others want to find a new job and improve their income. Or maybe you want something material. It is worth thinking carefully about this issue.

• What do I want to change in my life?

For example, place of residence, or maybe country of residence. Lifestyle, gain financial freedom or monetize your hobby.

What you need to know about personal growth trainings

Personal growth training is a fairly common thing in the life of a modern person. However, some people misunderstand the meaning of self-development courses and confuse them with psychotherapy. Of course, training allows you to solve certain psychological problems, for example, develop self-confidence and improve certain personal qualities. But the classes are aimed at working with mentally healthy people, and therefore do not relate to psychotherapy.

The main objectives of self-development training are to increase a person’s potential, identify and develop the facets of personality, which allows them to achieve success in various areas of life. In the process of working on oneself, the worldview changes, thanks to which the course participant acquires new qualities and habits, and forms an attitude towards what is happening.

There are two types of such trainings. Some stimulate natural, passive transformation, others are aimed at active personal growth. Let's consider each option in more detail.

Natural personal growth trainings allow you to strengthen your inner strengths and get rid of beliefs that limit a person’s qualitative growth. Participants in the training work through various situations without focusing on the actual fact of transformation. Natural changes occur in accordance with a person’s internal attitudes. In this format, the coach’s task is to create optimal conditions for personal development. The training can be aimed at working with both the past and the present. By attending classes, a person finds answers to pressing questions, forms a model of behavior for various situations, and learns to interact correctly with the outside world.

Transformational trainings are considered the best natural growth courses. They allow you to expand the boundaries of your worldview, achieve a kind of enlightenment, get rid of limiting beliefs and the negative influence of the environment. After undergoing transformational training, a person realizes his inner potential, focusing on new opportunities and goals.

During active personal growth trainings, personality transformation occurs at the level of self-identification. The process itself involves obtaining certain knowledge and developing the necessary skills. Such events include training aimed at developing leadership qualities, increasing professional effectiveness, educational training, etc.

Classes can be held online and offline. The result of any training is the activation of thinking, rethinking of one’s own values, beliefs and plans.

Why don't people want to develop?

It's not that simple at all. Therefore, people who spend a lot of time reading literature, or endlessly attend trainings, but do nothing on their own, or do not study personally with a coach, remain in their original positions. What are the reasons for all this:

• Lack of willpower

Procrastination or constant putting things off, or simple laziness, prevent a person from moving towards his goals. In some families, parents raised willpower in their children, while in others they did not. But this does not mean at all that you cannot raise her yourself. It's like a muscle, the longer you train, the better the results.

There are two approaches to training willpower: Do OR Don't. Our body will find thousands of reasons not to do it, since it does not want to leave the “comfort zone”. But as we wrote earlier, “if you do everything as always, then you will get the same result as always.”

Start training yourself with daily, constant actions: exercise, church fasts, daily 40-minute walks, maintaining a family budget, monitoring expenses and your free time. You need to make plans and carry them out. Otherwise there will never be a result.

Willpower is a spiritual quality, and it is cultivated by people with very high awareness.

Just by developing this quality you can achieve dramatic changes in your life.

• Lack of motivation

A person needs a very strong desire to motivate himself to change. And as a rule, our inner voice often tells us: “Well, why do you need this? And so good!” And everything remains in the same place. Therefore, a person will never lose his extra 20 kg. Because you need to seriously deny yourself something, spend time on sports, count calories. To limit yourself means to deprive yourself of “sweets”. Who, the one who loves him, would bring himself to this?

In order to have motivation, you need to set the right goals, clearly see and visualize the result of what you want. And only then with willpower and overcoming yourself can you get results. The proverb: “Without labor, you can’t catch a fish out of a pond”... that’s what it’s about!

• Lack of time management

This is another reason that slows people down on the path to their goals. There are plans, but there is no exact time when they will begin to be implemented. And this is a big mistake. Many people try to start “on Monday”, “on New Year”, etc. and they never start. Time is the most valuable resource. So years pass, but “things are still there.”

It’s not enough to plan, it’s also worth tracking the implementation, and giving yourself pluses for completing it, and be sure to encourage yourself.

• Lack of discipline

Here you only need to write one thing: if you have started, then for at least 21 days you should do it every day, without days off, and without excuses. The body “will not help you in any way”; it will even “invent” a disease. But you still try and do it. This is the only way to get results.

Useful books on personal growth

Thematic literature will be an additional help for successful work on yourself. We recommend that you pay attention to the following publications:

• “Be afraid... but act! How to Turn Fear from an Enemy to an Ally" by Susan Jeffers. The book contains effective ways to get rid of limiting beliefs. The author explains how to take responsibility for your own life and stop succumbing to the manipulations of your environment.
• “Think slow, decide fast” by Daniel Kahneman. The work examines the features of slow and fast thinking. Kahneman shares decision-making mechanisms, tells how to avoid rash actions and direct energy in the right direction.
• “Project Happiness. Dreams. Plan. New Life" by Gretchen Rubin. The book is a step-by-step guide for personal development. After reading, you will be able to determine your true goals and desires, and also receive recommendations that will help you become better and more productive every day.

Self-development in studies

Every person goes through compulsory education, developing and gaining certain knowledge. After schooling, the road leads to higher education institutions. Here it is worth showing interest in choosing a profession and focusing your actions on in-depth study of core subjects. Obtaining a diploma is the first serious step towards personal development.

Self-development in studies gives positive results :

• a person learns to focus on classes;
• gains first skills in motivation;
• participates in the learning process, does not go with the flow, but makes a conscious choice;
• enjoys studying and easily learns the material, since he learns of his own free will.

The institutes pay attention to the development of speed of thinking (critical and analytical). As a result, the educational process is smooth and interesting. The student gains knowledge that he can apply in various life situations.

How to find yourself and your business if you don’t know what to do

Each of us experiences periods of stagnation when we want to give up everything and run away from the outside world. This state does not bring much joy, but it can become a starting point for change, a moment of rethinking. Fatigue and blues are one of the signs that something is going wrong. Instead of struggling with depression and apathy, go on an exciting journey straight into your inner world. Try to remember what you want from life, what is the meaning of your life, what goals light you up. Once you find the answers to these questions, move on to decisive action. All you have to do is start doing what you like, and there will be no trace of depression left.

On the path of personal growth, many women and men face the problem of self-identification. Not everyone understands who they are, much less what they want to do. You can find the area of ​​personal development in several ways:

1. Dedicate yourself to what you love. There is no need for unnecessary explanations here. When you do what you love, and vice versa, love what you do, you become happy.
2. Go through all the options

This trial and error method can be divided into several directions:

• Spend time on things that interest you.

Almost every person has a hobby, but only a few know how to derive profit and benefit from it. Hobbies are always pushed into the background; it’s not as serious as, for example, work. Who might like what I do?

A striking example that breaks this pattern is blogging. Yes, at first it seemed strange, then the number of bloggers began to grow at incredible speed. Having shown themselves on social networks, such personalities become media figures. They are no longer just people on a smartphone screen - many bloggers appear on the radio, host TV shows and even act in films. Who at the beginning of their journey would have thought that their life would be interesting to at least someone? Almost no one can guarantee success in this matter. But if you take your hobbies seriously, you have a chance to make yourself known to the world.

Try to regularly devote time to upgrading the areas of your life that interest you. Gather a community, team up with like-minded people and constantly improve in what you love.

• Don't be afraid to make mistakes

There are situations when there is no favorite activity that lights you up.
Something interesting, but nothing more than superficial. In this case, it's time to come up with a hobby. Just write down all the ideas related to your interests. What would you like to do full-time? Drawing, aircraft modeling, yoga, programming, design - feel free to capture everything that seems attractive. After analyzing the list, imagine how you implement each of the ideas. If your imagination paints pleasant pictures and you feel an emotional uplift, try learning a new activity. And even if you don’t like it, just move on to the next item on the list.

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Read more Don't force yourself to do something for your own development. This path will not lead to anything good. At the very least, you will waste energy and strength in the wrong direction. Even worse, doing something you don’t like often becomes the reason for the development of complexes and various diseases.

• Visualize

Remember the phrase “I think, therefore I am”? It means that personal growth begins with a change in thinking. Philosophy calls this way of thinking transcendental. That is, first you work with internal attitudes, and then move on to actions that lead to the desired results. Therefore, concentrate more often on your own development, think about plans and opportunities. This way you will understand in which direction you need to move.

• Start doing

Of course, it is important to tune yourself to a certain wave. But the only thing that will bring real results is action. Everyone wants to be successful, beautiful and rich, but only a small part of people move from dream to business.

Don't forget that only you are responsible for your life, actions and environment. Stop worrying about what others think. You will always be criticized no matter what you do. Personal growth is not easy, but only by working on yourself can you become better.

Advice from a neuroscientist

The famous neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki (her book is on our RECOMMENDED page) suggests changing psychology by reinforcing it with physiology. To do this, she and her students engage in sports exercises during a lecture on neurobiology. For example, the following interesting conclusions can be drawn from her work:

• Any physical exercise, and especially its repetition, increases the release of positive neurotransmitters (pleasure hormones in this case) in the head. These hormones immediately improve your mood, and last two hours after training, and even your reaction time improves. The same can be said about race walking at a speed of 4.5-5 km per hour.
• Once you begin to exercise regularly and physically train your body, your memory improves and new neural connections appear. This means that the rest of your brain cells undergo these changes. Of course, treating Alzheimer's disease and memory loss is difficult. But it is possible to improve the consequences of senile dementia.
• You don’t have to go to the gym; you can walk in the park at a sporting speed 3-4 times a week for just 30-40 minutes to train your heart muscle. In addition, if you add useful affirmations, your well-being will improve significantly.

And then you will definitely understand the difference between the word I want and the word I really feel. Summing up, in order to see changes when practicing self-development, you need to do everything consciously and physically, and then there will definitely be personal growth!

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One-year program for successful personal growth

We have already said more than once that personal growth must occur according to a certain plan. If you break down big goals into small tasks, achieving big goals won't seem so daunting. The strategy does not have to be designed for any long period. There are both short-term and open-ended goals.

We advise you to take a closer look at the annual personal growth plan. The following program will help you improve all areas of your life in just 12 months:

• January

The beginning of the year should be devoted to the issue of self-confidence. Work through existing fears, complexes, grievances, etc. It is impossible to gain heights without freeing yourself from excess.

• February

During this period, it is worth taking care of finding a purpose. Think about what you want and outline a vector of personal development.

• March

The beginning of spring is the time to set bold and ambitious goals. Try to eat the elephant one piece at a time: break big tasks into simple steps and make a plan for upcoming changes.

• April

Schedule your time according to your schedule. Check your diary periodically to stay on track.

• May

This is a wonderful time when nature literally comes to life. Start transforming along with the world around you! It's time to take the first steps towards your dream! To maintain a positive attitude and motivation, keep a success diary and record any, no matter how small, victories.

• June

In the first month of summer, it is worth paying attention to mental health and relaxation. You have already done a lot of work and received the first results of your own transformation. It's time to learn to relax, to find a balance between active action and rest. For example, incorporate meditation into your daily routine.

• July

At this time, it is worth taking care of your relationships with your environment. Perhaps you got too carried away with “achievement” and forgot about the people you really care about. Pay attention to your family and friends, because there will always be a lot of worries, and lost time cannot be returned.

• August

Devote yourself to creativity. Creativity and ingenuity are integral companions to personal growth. Figure out how to add variety to your usual daily activities, and, conversely, find new hobbies. Yoga, artistic modeling courses, vocal master classes - express yourself and discover new facets of your personality.

• September

The beginning of autumn is always a moment of assessment and rethinking. Analyze the path you have taken and outline new horizons. Perhaps you should learn a new profession or attend thematic courses. It's time to bring unrealized plans and desires to life.

• October

Finding a new environment is an essential stage of personal growth. Visit unusual places, make acquaintances, develop business connections. Be prepared for a little discomfort: other people, unusual topics of conversation - it can be scary. But as you grow personally, you will improve your communication skills and take a worthy position in the new community.

• November

It's time to monetize your hobbies and passions. Think about how you can benefit people in exchange for a decent monetary incentive. Develop a strategy for promoting your own products and services.

• December

As you close out the year, take stock of your progress. Remember the brightest moments, all significant achievements, evaluate your own success. This will help formulate plans and objectives for the next 12 months.

Origin of the term

The term “personal growth” was originally formulated by American psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. They are also the founders of humanistic psychology. A little later, the term “personal growth” began to be widely used by other psychological trends.

The original concept of personal growth was based on the assumption that every person has a positive inner nature. That is, under certain circumstances, any individual is able to develop and also demonstrate his positive qualities: kindness, honesty, compassion, mercy, and the like.

In the concept held by Maslow and Rogers, a person, under appropriate circumstances, will manifest those positive qualities that are already inherent in him. If the environment is not conducive to this, then personal growth may be difficult or will not occur to its full potential.

Some psychological movements view a person as an entity that does not possess initially positive qualities. That is, a person in such concepts is initially neutral, but in the process of personal growth he can acquire positive qualities.

Finally, recommendations with examples on personal growth

Personal growth is a rather difficult path on which you will encounter more than one obstacle. To overcome all difficulties, be patient and do not lose sight of the final goal. Take these recommendations into account:

1. Set specific and measurable goals Identifying weaknesses and strengths, strategy, first actions - all this can seem difficult and tedious, especially if you have just embarked on the path of change.
   Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, who created Twitter, probably thought the same thing. Dorsey and Stone were ordinary employees of an IT company when the idea of ​​​​creating a new social network was born. Understanding the specifics of the market, Jack Dorsey understood that the project needed not only creativity. True success requires an advanced and focused technician as well as a producer-investor. Fortunately, such people were surrounded by the aspiring entrepreneur.

   By performing their own and very specific tasks, each participant contributed to the growth and promotion of the social network. It took only a couple of weeks to create Twitter, and it quickly took a leading position in the list of popular social networks.

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2. Plan your time wisely

   Time is a necessary resource in the process of self-development.
   Moreover, what matters is not just the number of free hours, but the ability to manage them correctly. The ever-popular time management isn't just information about scheduling. This is a whole system that will help you identify priority tasks, plan upcoming work and delegate some responsibilities. Time management increases productivity - you do more in less time, without compromising your own needs and interests. One of the most interesting examples of the implementation of time management is the story of James Dyson. The inventor spent more than 15 years creating the ideal vacuum cleaner. James came up with 5,127 unsuccessful prototypes before introducing the Dyson cyclonic vacuum cleaner. Throughout the entire journey, the developer tried to properly organize his time in order to have time to work, pay attention to his family, and meet with friends. It was Dyson’s entourage, with whom he kept in touch all these years, that helped promote the brand of the same name. Today, James is a happy husband and father of three children, and his fortune has exceeded $3 billion.

3. Automate processes

   Automation helps save time and avoid mistakes. An IT product such as a CRM system is ideal for business automation.

   CRM is software that independently keeps records of clients and transactions, automates sales and reports. The program database stores the entire history of interaction with clients and call recordings. This allows you to monitor the quality of employee work, supervise tasks and projects, and receive appropriate reporting. CRM automatically generates tasks at each stage of the funnel, reminds about deadlines, and sends notifications to clients. The implementation of the program is convenient for both employees and company management.

4. Form strategic goals

   Once you have mastered short-term planning, you should move on to larger-scale intentions. Constantly achieving small goals is quite pleasant, but quickly tires. This condition is usually called lack of motivation. To cheer yourself up and reach a new level, aim for something global, set a strategic goal! This is real personal growth! Once you decide to play big, new opportunities will open up for you, unusual ideas will arise, and the necessary resources will appear.

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We set strategic goals

If short-term planning produces results, and you have entered the “I see a goal - I see no obstacles” mode, you can expand the time frame and set strategic goals. And remember! Laziness in psychology is divided into two aspects - lack of motivation and lack of will. If laziness eats up all your progress, then you should think about changing your field of activity or working conditions. But if you have chosen the right direction and are steadily moving towards your goal, then all possibilities are open to you.

Jack Ma , a man whose fortune is now estimated at $25 billion, never showed much promise. A frail Chinese man from a poor family - he was not accepted into college twice, was refused a job more than ten times, and was hired only as a provincial tour guide for foreigners. There he learned English on his own and then graduated from a pedagogical university. Having learned about the existence of the Internet, he realized that China does not exist on the Internet, just like the Internet in China. Then Ma Yun (his real name) set himself the global goal of becoming a pioneer. For four years he studied literature, studied, and finally organized an Internet company. Today it is known as the Alibaba Group, a rival-crushing legend with a turnover of more than $180 billion.

Jack Ma is called the richest man in China. That's why he's so happy. Photo source: VTB magazine “Energy of Success”

We've figured out where to start personal growth in your career, but how to finish? Nothing and never! As you know, movement is life, and upward movement is a good life.