The Case For Self/Personal Development

Theoretically, personal development is different from self-development. While the former involves learning new skills and techniques to get you ahead in life, the latter tackles improving your existing abilities and strengths. However, for the purpose of this article, we shall be considering them together as one concept.

Self-development or personal development is a lifelong process, even though it is more critical for the young person who is beginning life. It must be noted for a fact that if you don’t consciously make plans for improvement, you end up “rusting”. This is the stage in life where you eventually wake up one day to discover that you have been stagnant for a long time and nothing seems to be advancing with you – all others are swiftly moving ahead but you remain stacked.

A friend of mine defined success in life as the point where preparation and opportunities meet. By this, he meant that one must always be prepared or well-positioned to grasp certain life opportunities that graciously come our way. Self or personal development is therefore essential for personal growth.

In this article, I will be taking you through five benefits associated with self or personal development.

Provides a sense of direction

Self or personal development provides an avenue for one to work on him/herself. When you work on yourself, you become clearer about what you want out of your life. And this actually gives you a sense of direction that positions you to make better decisions in life.

Many young people in the course of life get stacked up, just because they do not have a clear sense of direction on what to do next after hitting a certain phase of life. They hardly see any opportunities around and even if they do find one, they frustratedly come to realise that they do not have what it takes to grasp such an opportunity. 

If you will work on yourself, learn to read and consciously commit adequate time to improving your life, you will discover that there are so many opportunities out there that fall in line with your life goals and capacity. With this, you know at any given point in time, the next step to take. In developing yourself, your eyes are opened to many realities which hitherto are hidden.

• Enlarges your perspective about your area of operation and life in general

Self or personal development expands your perspective through continuous and consistent learning. The more you read, learn, attend conferences/seminars and network, the better you widen your perspective on happenings around you. It is worth noting that the dynamics of society and its operations keep changing from time to time. Meaning, that if you don’t seek to improve on your abilities and your understanding of our ever-changing environment you will soon be rendered irrelevant.  As a young person, knowing this should cause you to venture out of your comfort zone and think of how you can improve yourself to meet the increasing demands of our evolving society. One such way is through a consistent reading lifestyle. If you continue to do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got.

• Kills complacency

Life doesn’t end with having a stable job and being able to buy the things that you want. Working to improve yourself and identifying your enhanced strengths can open new paths and opportunities for you. And when such opportunities are effectively grasped, you are lifted to new dimensions of life where your impact is felt by many. Many global icons became who they are today simply because they did not cease to work on themselves, and they made every opportunity count.  Complacency can kill potentials. Don’t be a victim. Keep working to improve yourself. The people around you must continuously see a better version of you as each day/week/month/year passes.

• Enhances your confidence

Progression in life requires taking up new challenges. And this is where confidence comes into the picture. In fact, growing your confidence is very critical in taking up new challenges and opportunities. This is what brings progression in life. People who lack confidence usually tend to procrastinate and easily give up on their life goals because they don’t feel capable of achieving them. When you embark on the journey to improve yourself, you will learn new and better skills and you will become better at what you do and such has implications for your level of confidence.  The more you learn about something, the more confident you can become.

• Makes you more successful

Someone has said, once you committed to personal development and embark on the journey, you will realize that you are making progress and moving toward living a better life each day. He adds that it may be slow and it may not happen overnight, but as long as you commit to making progress, you will eventually arrive.

Yes, this is exactly what self or personal development does. A lot of young people today are not committed to personal development. They don’t want to read. They don’t want to learn. They don’t want to attend seminars. They simply don’t want to improve themselves. They spend all their time on social media and watching movies. They think that having a degree is enough. No! It is not enough. Some also think having been able to secure a job is enough. I am sorry to say that is also not enough. You’ve got to improve yourself to grow in that career field you find yourself.

Young man, young woman, grow to remain relevant, grow to increase your capacity to handle new tasks and challenges. Yes, you’ve got to grow to readily take up new responsibilities when the opportunities come your way. Commit to personal development. Make it your daily habit to read, learn something new, and improve yourself consistently.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Aps. Benedict Eghan

Apostle Benedict Eghan is a Minister of the Gospel with The Church of Pentecost and is currently the Resident Minister of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Tesano. He also doubles as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. Read More…