Personal growth, or self-development, is a field of study that
crystallised into an industry some decades ago. Ever since then, volumes of
thoughts have been expressed on it in various forms, such as books, essays, CDs
and multimedia tools, among several others. And many persons have risen to the
status of expert in it, and thereby earn their living.
Personal development, in all ramifications (spiritual, mental,
emotional, physical, social), is the foundation stone for all accomplishments.
Many people are bewildered about how to pursue personal development because
they tend to see it as an end in itself, and do not realise that it is the
means to an end – be it success, wealth, promotion, balance etc. Adding
credence to this, James Allen in his all-time classic, As A Man Thinketh, says,
“Men
are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve
themselves; they therefore remain bound.”
Jim Rohn, a leading authority in the field of self-growth, says that the
key to wealth and happiness is to ‘work harder on yourself than you do on your
job’. He then expatiates thus:
What you become is far more
important than what you get. The important question to ask on the job is not,
“What am I getting?” Instead, you should ask, “What am I becoming? “Getting and
becoming are like Siamese twins: what you have today you have attracted by
becoming the person you are today… Income rarely exceeds personal development.
Sometimes income takes a lucky jump, but unless you learn to handle the
responsibilities that come with it, it will usually shrink back to the amount
you can handle… It is hard to keep that which has not been obtained through
personal development.
The word of Jim Rohn sheds light on the importance of self-grooming
toward attaining those ends that are the target of the daily pursuits of most
men. Success, wealth, promotion, balance and the rest should therefore not be
your focus; rather you should be committed to a disciplined and sustained
cultivation of your person.
To achieve this, you need to break out of your comfort zone, query some
of your traditional mindsets and stretch beyond your imaginary limits to the
realm of can-be. One word that must be your driving force – which I call the
keyword to personal growth – is “more”, “more”, and “more.” To this end, you
would need to:
See more: open your eyes wider and see on a
larger scale. Open your inner eye and see beyond the present. See the big
picture. See opportunities. See options. See avenues. See possibilities. See
greatness. See seeds. See potentials. See, see, and see!
Ask more: ask more questions. Seek more
information. Request for more explanation, more clarification. Increase your
curiosity. Double your inquisitiveness about everything. By asking more, you
get to know more and be more.
Read more: if you do not have a habit of
reading, you need to cultivate it. And if you already have, then you need to
read more, read wider, read over, read beyond your field. By so doing, you
would be cultivating your mind for sound reasoning and better decision-making.
Learn more: you need to increase your bank of
knowledge by consciously seeking information on different things, from
different sources. Go out and learn more on what you already know, update your
mind with the latest information. By learning more, you will become more.
Try more: you might have failed in an
endeavour, try again. Explore more options. Try your hands on new things, you
don’t have to get it perfect at first or even at all, just do something. Try
this, try that, try here, try there. Don’t stop trying, it’s the key to growth
and the best way to increase your capacity.
Work more: do more work than you are wont to
do. Organise your life and time in such a way that will enable you to get more
work done. Do more work than you are paid for. Whatever you are doing, work
more at it and don’t rest on your oars.
Do more: take more actions. Expend more efforts. Do one
percent more of what you are doing. Increase your action ratio. Go an extra
mile; and you are on the path to self-development, happiness and success.
Give more: give more of yourself, give more of
your time, give more of your resources to your family, your friends, your work,
your church and your society. Don’t stop giving, it is the secret of getting
and becoming. So give more.
Be more: be more than you are to yourself, to your family, to
your friends, to your company, to your church/society. Be more than “me” to
yourself, be your own resource person. Be more than a husband/father to your
wife/children, be their mentor. Be more than a wife/mother to your family, be
their inspiration. Be more than a friend, be a motivator. Be more than an
employee, be a value-adder. Be more than a colleague, be an encourager. Be more
than a member in your church/society, be a contributor. Do you understand now?
So break out of the status quo and be more to all!
The keyword to personal growth and development is “more”. Always ask
yourself ‘what more can I do?’, ‘What more can I be?’, ‘What more can I
learn?’, ‘What more can I give?’ etc. You will be amazed at how fast you would
grow as well as at what you are able to accomplish.
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