Many of us are not aware of the importance of Personal Development, let alone its benefits. Majority of the schools we attend do not emphasize the fundamentals of Personal Development. All they ask of us is to thrive in a competitive environment, get a certificate, find a corporate job and ultimately work until retirement. We are not taught to embrace failure, instead, we are fearful of it. Some of you may be able to relate (Lecturers demanding you to excel in all your subjects if not it will spell your demise etc.)
But, I beg to differ. Life does not revolve around grades. Do not be caught up in the axiom that grades = success. This is when Personal Development can contribute greatly towards your life as it teaches you to manage yourself effectively and combat whatever obstacles you may face.
So what is Personal Development? To put it in lament terms, it is a lifelong process that you can apply in all areas of your life. Many people utilize it in order to gauge the stage of life they are at and assess their skills and qualities so that they are able to set achievable goals.
Who is it for? People who are seeking a better and more fulfilled life or people who want to escape the throes of the rat-race.
To answer the question as to why Personal Development is important, we will take a look at several benefits:
1) Self-Actualization
Self-Actualization is the realization of one’s potential. In other words, you are able to grasp who you are as a person at a deeper level; your vision, your beliefs, and how you will want to design your own life. Awareness of oneself is the fundamental step towards success and happiness in the Personal Development process.
All individuals have the need to see themselves as competent and autonomous, also that every person has limitless room for growth. – Abraham Maslow
2) Improvement in Decision-Making
Once you are clearer about yourself, you will be more decisive in the things you want to achieve in life. You will eliminate all sorts of excuses to thrust yourself towards your goal. Additionally, developing different perspectives towards the situations you face in times of adversities. As you hone your skills in Personal Development, you will find many different solutions to a challenging problem.
3) You will feel happier
Without a doubt, Personal Development will make you feel more fulfilled and happy in life. This is because when you make a mistake, you will not dwell on it, but instead, you will use it as a leverage to continue improving yourself. You will not perceive failure as if it is doomsday, however, you will actually see it as an advantage for yourself.
The fear of failure is overrated as an excuse. What people fear is not the failure but the criticism or blame that comes behind it.
Onward.
Well, with Personal Development, you are able to take people’s criticisms with a pinch of salt and not allowing them to deter you from your goal.
4) Increase Focus and Concentration
With Personal Development comes great clarity. As your skills improve, you will have a better sense of prioritization. Your roadmap to success will be clearer and you are able to do things in a shorter period of time with the same output.
Conclusion
Are there any more benefits? Of course. I can possibly go on forever as to why Personal Development is so important to anyone. However, to be frank, you can read all kinds of benefits relating to Personal Development but if you do not take massive action, you are only cheating yourself.
So, what you can do is to start sketching out a roadmap for yourself. Set daily goals, monthly goals or even yearly goals. Begin by reading more books on Personal Development and start assessing where you are at in your life. You will slowly begin to come across benefits pertaining to Personal Development!
