Effectivity

What is self development anyway?

Self development is a catch-all phrase, that has been used and misused for all sorts of purposes.  People use it interchangeably with self help, self improvement, popular psychology, personal development and a few other less popular terms.  Pedantics aside, what we are talking about here is pursuing your potential or pursuing a series of goals. 

Self Development has become a pseudo joke for many people because they automatically think of motivational million dollar speakers, cheesy catch phrases and worthless mantras.  A popular image of self development is portrayed in the film Little Miss Sunshine.  The father in that story is an up and coming self development guru, hoping to make it to fame and fortune, but never actually getting his own life together.  From images like this, we can be forgiven for believing that self development is often more fluff than fact.  That it is all about show business and manipulation for profit.

In reality, self development is something that effective people have been doing for centuries.  Who knows when it all began, but I assume that the first time that prehistoric man set his sights on something in the future - something out of his reach - he gave birth to self development.  From there we have come a long way.  We have developed and tested many tools, methods and processes to help us in pursuing our potential.  We have recorded inspiring stories and case studies of all sorts.  We have watched as the world has changed and morphed into what we now see, and to no great surprise, self development still counts as an extremely popular topic for learning, practice and living.

Some people use self development concepts in order to keep up.  It is reasonable to assume that the correct tools and methods can help us catch up and keep up with the rest of society.  If you feel significantly left behind, then this sort of self development will help you.   

Others, on the other hand, are interested in getting ahead, and need a completely different kind of toolkit.  The conventional tools that help you catch up with the population, rapidly become useless if you seek to do something extraordinary.  While an effective diary system may serve you well in your attempt to get through your day, it just may be the thing that holds you back from flying really high.  While becoming indispensable may be great for reaching the top of a company, it may be terrible for launching your own company.  This is the same whether we are talking about physical tools, psychological concepts, mental concepts and even actions.  We all need the right tool kit related to our desired level of performance.

Is there one best way to self develop?  These days, self development comes in many different shapes and sizes.  There are so many that it becomes baffling which you should follow. Perhaps up to half of the self development out there is useless.  This will become clear to you when you study it, and try to put into action the cliches and apparent wisdom that it is based on.  The other half comes in many different flavours and styles, because it is developed and packaged by people who appreciate different things.  The good news is that there is some style to suit most people out there.  These styles range from cold hard action at one end, to emotional, flowing, warm concepts at the other.  What you find cold and intellectual, I might find exciting and easy to put to work.  What you find warm and nurturing, may make me feel nauseated and demoralized.  I consider that LifeGoalAction clings closer to the action end of the spectrum than the emotion end, but I guess that depends on your perspective.  The main point is that there is something for any taste and today it is easily available.

Despite the variation, there is one overall principle that guides effective self development.  When you find a system of self development that suits you, it is imperative that you settle down with it, and persist for a relatively long period of time.  No matter what tools, methods, and sources you use, it will take time and patience to see results.  This time could be weeks or years depending on your goals.  Either way, if you continue to chop and change, you will hardly ever see success.  Always following the latest philosophy or technique may be exciting and motivating, but it is hardly ever as productive as finding what works and sticking with it until you see your results. 

To be really effective in pursuing your goals, find one stream of personal development and stick to it patiently.  Experiment and trial elements of that stream but stick to one basic concept for as long as it takes to really try it out.  If you do this patiently, you will find that self development can take you closer than you ever dreamed to your potential, no matter what that is.