There comes a time in life when you feel ready to move to the next level and begin to look for suitable ways to develop your personality. You feel that the lessons of the past have served you well, they have made you stronger and wiser.
And even if things are going well in life, you still want to take the next step. Whether it's a career or your personal growth, eventually you would like to move beyond your current limitations.
So, let's assume that you have decided to move to the next level of development, one question remains: how to do it?
In this article, we will offer you eight amazing strategies to help you take a step forward and look at the conditions and ways of personal development.
But first, let's figure out why we need to develop, set goals and achieve them?
Self-education
No matter who a person is, no matter what conditions he has to live in, through his efforts he can “blind” himself into what he wants. Self-education literally means the process of independently obtaining education in a certain field. Everyone needs it - sales managers, presidents of large corporations, ordinary dishwashers. Without it, a person is doomed to degradation. What are the main strategies for self-directed education?
- Firstly , this process must be continuous, as it contributes to the intellectual development of the individual. Knowledge in the 21st century is growing at a catastrophic speed. At the same time, you can study endlessly. There will always be a so-called “zone of proximal development” - something that a person does not yet know, but can master.
- Secondly , self-education must be accompanied by a high level of motivation. To achieve a certain level of knowledge, you must first of all want to achieve this level. If it has not yet been achieved, perhaps the motivation of those who want to learn is not so high. The self-education of modern man faces hundreds of obstacles. This is constant fatigue after a hard day, lack of time, household and work problems. However, only those who do not give in to despondency can manage to accomplish their plans and, under any circumstances, remain highly motivated to achieve the goal.
- Thirdly , this process must be individualized. Few methods of personal development can be as close and accessible as self-education. To learn a foreign language, master a creative profession, or master any skill, all you need to do is turn on the Internet. But sometimes a lack of faith in one’s strength can be an obstacle. And here the principle of individualization of self-learning comes to the rescue.
For example, a person who has previously read little wants to start studying philosophy, and begins his self-education by reading Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Of course, such reading will be “too tough” for him; he will only lose faith in his abilities. You need to start with small steps, taking into account your own learning characteristics.
In the process of self-education - as well as education in general - you should remember: you need to rely only on your own strengths. Neither a teacher nor a more experienced master can replace his own efforts to acquire knowledge.
Stages of formation of personal and professional qualities
Since the goal of any training is the formation of a professional in a certain specialty, the main stages of the development of personal and professional qualities occur in educational institutions. In addition to interacting with teachers, a person is at the stage of active self-development and self-improvement. Thus, it is during the period of receiving education that the main stages of the formation and development of the main qualities (both personal and professional) necessary for further successful professional activity occur.
The first stage is to determine the future field of activity in general and the profession in particular, based on personal capabilities and personal preferences. Next comes adaptation to unknown conditions of further development. At this stage, a large amount of information is received about the specifics of the job and the qualities that are necessary to succeed in it. After stabilizing the educational process and acquiring some practical skills, a full awareness of one’s suitability in the profession comes. Success in the future depends not so much on the presence of natural qualities and capabilities, but on the constant readiness to work on one’s personal and professional qualities.
NLP
It is believed that language appeared in humans simultaneously with consciousness. In ancient times, people did not throw around words just like that, believing that they were of a magical nature. Neurolinguistic programming is a branch of psychology that studies how language affects everyday life.
Many methods of personality development have NLP techniques in their structure. The main idea of this discipline is that the functioning of the nervous system is closely related to language abilities. All the talents and advantages of people, as well as their shortcomings, can be described using language. Language is used primarily to communicate and convey experience. The founding fathers of the NLP movement, R. Bandler and J. Grinder, were confident that words express a person’s mental experience, and therefore language can not only be a tool for representing experience, but also replace it.
Already in ancient times, the greatest minds of mankind knew about the importance of language and its special role in changing life, transforming it. The ancient Greeks considered “logos” to be a mediator between objective reality and the world of ideas. The philosopher Heraclitus considered “logos” to be the principle by which all things in nature are related to each other.
NLP can be useful both for the development of a creative personality and for solving everyday problems. The main concept of this discipline is reframing. Translated from English, this word means “frame shift.” Roughly speaking, reframing is the ability to look at a problem from a different angle. For example, a girl may believe that forced loneliness has a very bad effect on her emotional state. Using reframing, you can look at this situation differently: perhaps she can use the time free from personal relationships to work and improve her skills in the professional field.
Modern approaches
The methods of education today dictate several ways of approaching it.
System
Interprets the emerging personality as a holistic entity. The goals, content and organization of educational activities are maximally interconnected. The systematic approach provides a number of conditions for self-realization, creativity, and individuality development.
Social education as a social institution
Activity-relational
The pupil is encouraged to engage in various activities that contribute to the acquisition of social experience. The developmental influence of this approach manifests itself only if it evokes internal experiences in the person being educated, forces him to show a positive or negative attitude towards what is happening, and stimulates his own activity.
Personality-oriented
Provides the student with opportunities for self-knowledge and self-realization. Ready-made experience is of little use; the basis for change is always the ability to grow and learn, taking into account your own experience. It is not external factors that play the main role; priority is given to the active personality.
Application of NLP: examples
One of the classic examples that helps explain the meaning of reframing is a drawing with three fish. One of them - the smallest one - escapes from the pursuit of the middle one. While the average fish, keen on hunting the small one, does not notice the direct danger to its own life.
The first of the drawings has no meaning. It simply depicts two fish - the predator and the hunted. They can symbolize anything: maybe a woman trying to lose weight, or a company manager who dreams of beating competitors and taking a high position. Or maybe these fish symbolize the desire of a common person to get rid of communication with an annoying relative. In all cases, there is a concentration of attention on a strictly defined goal. Rice. 1. Narrow frame
Rice. 2. A broader view of the world
In the second picture the situation is no longer so clear. The fish in the middle can realize other pressing problems of its existence. In addition to being obsessed with losing weight, the woman discovers that she should pay more attention to paying off her loan debts. A manager seeking a promotion should pay attention to the emotional coldness of his wife, who has been plotting a divorce strategy for three months now.
Reframing can be used in both images and words. There are thousands of phrases that, despite their harmlessness, carry critical overtones. For example, the expression “avoid stress” contains an undesirable meaning. It is better to replace it with the word “relax.” Many words are carefully disguised as positivity. For example, the expression “I want to avoid unnecessary expenses.” What's wrong, on the one hand, with this phrase? On the other hand, it is expressed in negative word forms and carries negativism. It is better to replace it with a more life-affirming one: “I want to make sure that I stay within my budget.”
Reframing is a great tool for self-reflection. It is especially useful to pay attention to the phrases with which we think. By changing your thinking, you can have a serious impact on the events in your life.
Test your knowledge
If you want to test your knowledge on the topic of this lesson, you can take a short test consisting of several questions. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question. The points you receive are affected by the correctness of your answers and the time spent on completion. Please note that the questions are different each time and the options are mixed.
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Evgeniy BuyanovKirill Nogales
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Methods of personality development: biography of great people
Studying the biographies of historical figures and contemporaries helps not only to identify the patterns that led them to success. In many cases, this method gives a charge of motivation, an example of courage and perseverance in any life circumstances. Every person has fear within them at the genetic level.
It is needed in order to protect a person from inevitable death every time. People no longer live in caves, and their lives no longer hang in the balance depending on the decisions of the community. But fears of all kinds - from phobias to social fears - sit deep in every person. All methods of personality development, one way or another, have as their goal overcoming inappropriate fear in a person.
It can be difficult for the modern generation to understand that the habit of heroism can be trained. Samurai, scientists burned for the truth - they all appear before us like shadows of the past. But history has thousands of examples of human heroism. Studying the biographies of both successful people and historical heroes is a powerful method that will allow you to look at life from a slightly different perspective. After all, for the majority, heroism is a gift that is given to a few. Not every artist becomes Raphael, and not every scientist becomes Einstein. Only a few athletes become champions.
But it’s worth studying the biographies of great people in more detail, and it turns out that leadership, intellectual development of the individual, and heroism are the work of ordinary people of flesh and blood. “It was not the gods who fired the pots,” said the ancient Greeks. Consider, for example, the inspiring story of Podolsk cadets - an example of the greatest feat, the result of which was the salvation of the Russian capital from the fascist invaders.
Humanistic education system
Modern pedagogy proclaims the conscious participation of children in their development as a condition for effective education. The object of education becomes a subject. The child’s own activity becomes one of the factors in the process; the teacher only helps and guides, giving the student the opportunity to make independent choices, while simultaneously promoting his individual development.
The humanistic system presupposes an attentive, respectful attitude towards children, tolerance for their opinions, and concern for psychological comfort. It is necessary for young people to feel needed and protected.
Parents and teachers must rely on national and cultural traditions, take into account the age, level of development of students, their habits, gender, and natural characteristics.
Victory over fear - an example of Podolsk cadets
Hitler had a plan to capture Moscow, codenamed Typhoon. The result of this plan was to be the complete destruction of women, children and the elderly. And they wanted to flood Moscow itself with water once and for all. But this plan was prevented from coming true by a handful of boys - Podolsk cadets.
On the morning of October 5, 1941, 220 km. from Moscow, the pilot on duty was horrified to discover a 25-kilometer column of tanks moving along the Warsaw Highway. These were the troops commanded by General von Bock. Stalin was at a loss - what to do? The entire Soviet strategy was to fight on enemy territory. He urgently summoned General Zhukov from Leningrad. Zhukov gave the order: detain the enemy for 5-7 days. In fact, the general said only a few words to the cadets: “Children, hold out for at least a few days. Moscow is in mortal danger."
This day was the most ordinary for the cadets of the Podolsk school. Everything changed at once at noon - the combat alarm rang out. 3,100 young boys marched against the murderers who had taken over all of Europe. Among those who fought were those who had never shaved and had never gone anywhere without mom and dad. The forward detachment disabled about 20 tanks and 10 armored cars. Several hundred fascist invaders were killed or wounded.
The Germans dropped red leaflets from their planes. In them they called on the young heroes to stop and come over to their side. “You fought bravely, but now the Warsaw highway is ours all the way to Moscow. Come over to our side. With us you will receive warm clothes and delicious food. This leaflet will be your ticket." However, the young heroes fought to the death. Only on October 25, the remaining cadets were withdrawn for further training to the rear. Of these, only every 10th survived. Over the course of 12 days, the cadets endured more than 100 enemy attacks.
Such an example cannot fail to inspire with its courage of resistance. Domestic psychologist A. Asmolov believed that personality is a specific person who is determined by his moral actions. For personal development, studying biographies and historical examples is a very motivating and useful technique.
Important norms of education
The most pressing problems of modern society relate to the sphere of spirituality and morality. The consequences of this crisis are:
- violations of ideas about marriage and family: sacrificial love, the indissolubility of marriage, the need to raise children are perceived as a burden;
- family members are often incapable of interaction and cooperation, show intolerance, and are unable to participate;
- the social roles of men and women are confused, children lose their bearings;
- the birth rate is falling;
- traditional moral goals are lost, which provokes children to vices and sin;
- disruption of family relationships increases deviations in the health and behavior of children;
- an unhealthy home atmosphere and psychological emptiness push teenagers into the “party” and communication with antisocial peers.
Attention
The way out of the situation seems to be the restoration of the traditional value of marriage, the revival of religious traditions, the recreation of a healthy social order, the formation of state institutions of pedagogical support, spiritual and moral education.
Art therapy: getting rid of the past and harmonizing personality
Personal development methods include, first of all, means that help bring harmony and make it easier for a person to achieve his goals. In this sense, the method of art therapy can serve as a good help. Throughout life, a person experiences a large number of painful emotions. They appear to be the “burden” that slows down the intellectual development of the individual and brings chaos to family life. Accumulating in the unconscious, negative experience prevents you from moving forward, delaying the achievement of goals for months and years.
How to use art therapy?
For this method, you can use plasticine. Art therapy is a great way of self-analysis. First you need to remember the traumatic situation, relive what once brought pain. Then you need to take a piece of plasticine and mold it into an image that matches the sensations. There is no need to rush, you can crush the pieces as much as your heart desires. Allow yourself to cry or be angry in this moment.
Then look from the outside at what came out in the end. There is no need to evaluate the image. You can ask yourself the question: “How much less have my negative experiences become now, after creating this image?”
If the traumatic situation was not too severe, one art therapy session is enough. If the experiences are deep enough, a longer period of time is needed. It is not necessary to use plasticine as the material. In art therapy, you can express feelings using watercolors and pastels.
Why is it worth starting with self-knowledge?
Surely you have heard the term “self-knowledge” more than once. This is the study of one’s own mental and physical characteristics, self-understanding.
It’s worth starting with self-knowledge for several reasons:
- You will be able to understand your real capabilities and realize what point of development you are at.
- Achieve inner harmony by learning about the characteristics of your internal motivation.
- Learn to use your character traits.
- Determine your values, professional and creative predispositions.
- Identify your limiting beliefs and learn to overcome them.
- Find out what's right for you.
It just so happens that there are no two absolutely identical people in the world. Even if they were similar from the very beginning, everyone has their own experience and perception. This means that you must first understand yourself to figure out where you want to go. Without this internal compass, a feeling of fog will appear - you will have to move by touch.
You can take our course on self-knowledge, where, with the help of psychological tests and exercises, you will find out what you really want in life and understand your strengths and weaknesses. Or at least start with the following exercises.
Know "Why?"
Knowing what exactly you want, believing and feeling is one thing. But understanding why you want it is completely different.
Much of the philosophical literature on self-knowledge is about knowing what , but knowing why is just as interesting and important.
To use this exercise, you just need to constantly question the motives of your actions. And it is advisable to answer in writing, because this way you can think carefully on paper.
Interestingly, it is important not only to find out your global motives, but also smaller ones:
- Why did I react this way yesterday to Misha’s words?
- Why do I like tea and not coffee?
- Why is green my favorite color?
- Why do I find reading blogs and short articles easier than reading books?
This way you will not only get to know yourself better, but, just as importantly, you will be able to identify mistakes in your behavior and thinking. You will make better decisions and learn to motivate yourself.
Watch yourself
This is one of the best methods for self-knowledge if used correctly. And “correctly” just means observing yourself and writing down all the information without trying to attach any label to it.
This method is fundamentally different from the previous one, so we recommend using them in turn. Start observing yourself from morning to evening and simply record your thoughts, reactions, behavior, emotions, beliefs.
One week of self-observation is enough. As a result, you will have an array of information about yourself, after analyzing which you can draw specific conclusions. It may turn out that you are in a great mood in the morning, and in the evening you feel embittered at the thought of not realizing your potential. Or it may turn out that certain people have a positive influence on your creativity. In short, at the end of the week, analyze the information received and draw conclusions.
Truth Week
Self-discovery has to be painful at times if you don't want to live your entire life with your head buried in the sand. What does it mean? Spend one week being completely honest and open with yourself.
You can find out:
- That you are actually very touchy if people do not recognize your merits.
- That you need new acquaintances, although you claim the opposite.
- That you are an extrovert, and not an introvert, as you thought.
- That you can't stand your current job. But you don’t deserve the best, because you do absolutely nothing for it.
- That you study English simply because everyone else is doing it. In fact, you don't like it at all.
These are all revelations that may overwhelm you if you are honest with yourself. Every person on the planet experiences the effects of cognitive dissonance. But only the most courageous try to figure out why this happens. Others come up with excuses for themselves. For example, instead of admitting your laziness, you can invent a reason why you haven't done anything useful for a month.
Therefore, set aside one week, arm yourself with a pen and notepad - and stop lying to yourself for at least seven days.
After you begin to get to know yourself (this is not a final process, but one that lasts a lifetime), you can move on to using various methods of self-development.
Take care of yourself physically
Physical capabilities undoubtedly play a very important role in order to feel happy and to experience a better quality of life.
When we feel bad or hurt, we can’t help but be upset about it, feel sorry for ourselves and justify our idleness.
To get rid of this problem, your physical condition must be at such a level that you do not even think about it. You do this by exercising, eating healthy, and getting enough sleep.
Without suitable oil, water, fuel and systematic maintenance, a car cannot drive normally. Its parts begin to fail one by one until the car completely falls apart.
The same happens with our body. Take care of your body. Give him the opportunity to act in your interests, and not vice versa.
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Content
- Developmental psychology, developmental psychology, child psychology
- Basic strategies for studying mental development
- Research methods in developmental and developmental psychology
- Basic concepts in developmental and age psychology
Developmental and age psychology is related to other psychological sciences, for example, general psychology, social psychology, personality psychology, educational psychology, etc.
The object of developmental and age psychology: a person from birth to death. Subject of developmental and age psychology: sources, driving forces, conditions and patterns of human mental development from birth to death.
Objectives of developmental and age-related psychology: 1. Explore all areas of mental development in all age periods. 2. Explore crises of age-related development throughout a person’s life path. 3. Determine the sensitive periods of each stage of childhood. The sensitive period is a period that creates the most favorable conditions for the formation of certain psychological properties.
How to learn to respect yourself
Of course, everyone wants to be respected, but this can only be achieved by learning to respect yourself. To do this you need to follow simple rules.
- A person’s opinion should not depend on the opinions of other people and their assessments.
- Never say negative things about yourself.
- Don't let people tell you what to do and how to do it.
- Never change your principles and life values.
- Control your emotions.
- Constantly develop your horizons, since the role of education in development is quite large.
- Take responsibility for your own life.
Helpers in self-development - mobile applications
Convenient mobile apps on your phone make it easier and better to track the changes you want to make in your personal growth program and help you develop individual skills. You can download and install them in the AppStore and Google Play.
Mobile applications for self-development:
- IQ pro - tests for IQ level
- Lumosity - improves thinking abilities
- Unstuck - replaces a trip to a psychologist
- Momentum – the journey – application for motivation
- Daily curiosity - helps expand your horizons
- Words - learn English or German in a playful way
- Blinkist - thousands of book summaries collected
- Weekly is a program for accustoming yourself to a certain action
- Forest - for those who want to stop being distracted
- Quest - motivate a person to do specific things
- Headspace - immersion in a meditative state
- Moodnotes - an application for those who have internal problems
- Black rhetoric - sharp phrases for all occasions
- Quick talker - an assistant in training diction and expressiveness of speech
- Body language - will teach you to “read” people by their movements
- Knowledge base - hundreds of fascinating articles on a variety of topics
- Memorizing numbers. Mnemonics. - simple exercises to train your memory
- Speed reading - learning to read quickly
- Socionics - a reliable description of personality (tests)
- Word of the day - expand your vocabulary
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