Personal growth is also known as personal development, self-improvement, or self-help. While people use different words for it, personal growth is a commitment to developing yourself to achieve your full potential. To become a better version of yourself, finding the meaning of life and to improve the quality of your life.
There are events in our lives that act as a trigger for us to work on personal development. It could be a stressful financial situation, a desire to make more out of our lives, or a particular bad trait or behavior we have. Whatever the trigger may be, it is essential to make full use of the trigger and truly start to grow.
Lisa Nichols used her financial circumstances to commit herself to personal growth. With less than $12 in her bank account, teetering on the brink of poverty, Lisa Nichols made a determined change. The turning point was the moment that she couldn’t afford pampers for her baby son. That was her trigger.
Today, she is the founder and CEO of Motivating the Masses, one of the celebrated motivational speakers, and has several best-selling titles in her name. This is just one example of how we can commit ourselves to personal growth — and you can do it too.
Benefits of Personal Growth
But why do you need personal growth? Well, there are countless benefits that apply to every part of your life: socially, professionally, academically, physically, and mentally. While there are too many benefits to name, eight are particularly important:
1. Self-Actualization
Self-improvement is the gateway to unlocking your full potential, to achieve self-actualization. It is the only guaranteed way of becoming everything you are capable of. The journey of personal growth opens you up to the awareness of who you are and what talents, gifts, strengths, and weaknesses you possess.
Personal growth allows you to understand yourself, which is an essential factor in attaining self-actualization. By discovering your talents and gifts, you can identify opportunities around you, and seize them.
And by recognizing your weaknesses and strengths, you are able to improve those weaknesses and make full use of your strengths.
2. Finding a Passion
If you are seriously committed to personal growth, you will find it has the potential to spark a new fire in your heart. It opens you up to the things you love and excel in. Specifically, you’re more open to realizing your talents and gifts, and turn these into hobbies or ways to earn a living.
Personal development truly allows you to explore your interests, which often bring about a new or rekindled passion for a specific hobby, skill or strength that you have. Consequently, you will be more motivated and enthusiastic about life.
1. Improved Self Image
Self-improvement also allows us to achieve our goals and targets. Achieving such goals brings a sense of confidence that we may never have experienced before. We are able to appreciate our efforts and pat ourselves on the back.
One of the most significant components of self-development is loving ourselves. Not in a narcissistic way, but in a way that allows us to appreciate who we are and what we can do. Loving ourselves in the sense that we can embrace our flaws, accept our pasts, and move on. In this way, we can let go of our bad habits and develop new ones that will be beneficial to us and those around us.
Loving yourself will help you eliminate self-doubt; it will allow you to cut yourself some slack even when you don’t get something right at the first try.
2. Better Relationships
Growing as a person has such visible effects that people around you will quickly notice. Have you ever had someone say to you: “You have changed a lot”? That’s because change is noticeable, and we cannot hide it. Personal growth makes your light shine brighter and brighter.
This law also applies to our relationships. By taking the time to invest in yourself and become a better person, you improve the quality of people you attract in your life. This can help you develop new meaningful relationships and improve the ones you already have.
If you’re working on your personal growth, you will want to seek relationships that add value. Not relationships that are one-sided and drain you. So determine how much energy to invest in different relationships, and get better relationships as a result.
3. New Knowledge
Personal growth exposes you to new skills, experiences, and concepts. Remember the last time you read a book and had a light bulb moment? Personal development allows us to broaden our understanding and perspective of the world around us, in all kinds of ways.
4. Healthy Living
If we intentionally pursue a better quality of life, we are able to lead better lives. As stated earlier, personal development also affects our physical well being. If we know who we are and where we want to go, it becomes easier to make decisions that are good for us. For example, we can more easily decide on how we exercise and what we eat every day.
5. Financial and Career Success
Related to point number 5, personal growth can be translated into professional success by gaining valuable skills. By pursuing your interests and talents, you show to potential employers that you are determined and ready to learn. In addition, it may allow you to learn skills that can be converted into an income-generating activity, as a freelancer.
6. Inspiration to Others
The last benefit of pursuing personal development, is that you can become an inspiration to those around you. If you truly are growing, other people will notice and see the positive effects of personal growth. The goal is not only how to be inspired but also find the chance to inspire people, and lead them to take action themselves.
What You Need to Be Successful in Personal Growth
It’s clear that there are many benefits to personal development or personal growth. So the question is not: Should you work on your personal development. Instead, the question is: How can you get started, and be truly successful? While there are many answers to this question, here are a few guidelines:
- First, have a personal vision. What do you want to attain through personal development? If you have a vision, learn how to motivate yourself. By having the end in mind, you will develop the perseverance needed to see your vision come true.
- Second, keep a record of your personal growth. This will enable you to track your progress and improvements. It will allow you to see where you were and how far you’ve come.
- Third, make a self-improvement plan. Without a plan, you will not be able to get to your destination. A plan will help you to articulate what areas you want to improve and how you will do it.
- And fourth, to keep yourself accountable for your personal growth, enlist an accountability buddy or personal development coach; in this way, you can commit to reporting your progress and keep yourself on the right path.
A Lifelong Process
If there is one thing you should remember from this article, it’s this: personal growth and development is a lifelong process that will require you to get out of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid of letting go of the familiar. Venture into new territory, like an adventurer at sea. You will surely reach your goals. And once you do, don’t forget to mentor others and bring them along in their own personal development journey.
Author Bio: David Wanjohi
David Wanjohi is a freelance digital marketer and content writer who enjoys all things personal growth and development. One of the most dear things to him is mindset and growth. During his free time he enjoys reading books from Robin Sharma, Stephen Covey and Norman Vincent Peale. In his current role, he is dedicated to helping businesses and entrepreneurs communicate their message effectively on the web. You can find him on Linkedin.