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.
