As Jordan Peterson, a world-famous clinical phycologist once said, “What you do not know is more important than what you already know’. This quote buttresses the point that learning and constantly developing in all areas of life is more important than we all think.
Constant development can be defined as the marathon that an individual runs to make improvements in
whatever activity the individual wants to excel in. Generally, our adult lives are shaped by the experiences and circumstances of our families, neighborhoods and schools during our formative years. Later in life however, our motivations to develop ourselves are powered by our desire to fulfill certain needs, as neatly presented in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The implication therefore is continuous development which is a life time process. This is because when needs of a certain level are satisfied, higher ones, which also need fulfillment, arise.
On a professional level, this manifests as a desire to rise within the ranks – to climb the corporate ladder – or in a business setting to keep taking our business onto the next business milestone. This could be in terms of revenue, bottom line, geographic presence or product offerings. As a force for growth and progress, personal development is an important aspect of life which each one of us should strive for.
Some of the benefits are clarity in personal visions, sharpening existing skills, giving our talents room to shine and driving motivation and success. The mind is a beautiful thing and in order to keep it active and receptive you need to exercise it constantly with new challenges so that it continues to grow. In order to be successful and happy, you need to to put together a strategy that will guide you on this journey. Embarking on this journey without patience and the understanding of your limits can result in loosing focus and cheating through the whole process.
The 3 main stages of continuous development are Improving your self-awareness, Knowing and building your identity and finally, discovering and creating a developmental loop.
Also, the “Social Media” era that we currently find ourselves in has drawn us into the cesspit of showing off our unfinished development rather than constantly focusing on sharpening ourselves. This particular problem is faced by the Millenials and GenZ-ers due to the fact that their whole conception of achievement and fulfillment is characterized by the digital age. Such a situation provides false selfsatisfaction and fake gratification from others. A sure way to save yourself is to focus more on sharpening your sword than advertising that you have a sword.
Reaching your own potential to the fullest is always going to be hard but who says you cannot get there and then exceed it? Reaching your full potential and unlocking that success and happiness doesn’t just happen at one big leap. Growth in every sphere of life requires time and nurturing. Some take longer than others to realize that their potential is just as high as others and that in order to achieve it they need to expand their knowledge about everything, take the time and effort in order to achieve what will make them happy.
Personal development is a journey, not a destination. Dream big, develop yourself, unleash your potential, network well with others, play to your strengths, enjoy the process, share your unique gifts with the world, and grow your greatness by testing yourself, expanding yourself, learning and improving.
