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.
