Self-development and self-improvement - the path to personal freedom

Obtaining new knowledge and new experience, developing new qualities and competencies in ourselves - all this is instilled in us from childhood by parents, educators and teachers. But, of course, no one will be responsible for us all our lives, and one fine day the moment comes when we ourselves begin to be responsible for ourselves, our development and successes.

Behind us are kindergarten, school, university - the places where we acquired basic skills and knowledge. This is where the path to a new life begins. Some continue their studies, some get a job or open their own business, but one way or another, people feel the need for further development. But in what direction to develop and where to start are questions that concern many.

Therefore, in fact, we decided to make material specifically on the topic of self-development . It was created to help those who do not know where to go, and will be useful both for beginners and for those who are already familiar with self-improvement, but for some reason have fallen into a stupor.

In this article we will cover the following questions:

• Psychology of self-development and self-improvement (what needs underlie them, why are they important, what tasks to set for yourself)
• What does self-development consist of (what does it look like, what methods and directions exist)
• Stages of self-development (where to start self-development, 5 steps to self-development)
• What hinders self-development

And it would be most logical to start with why a person generally has a need for self-development, and what are the psychological features of this process.

What is self-development

Self-development of a person is constant conscious work on oneself. Improving the mind, body, skills, character, behavior, culture, communication skills. The basics of self-development are self-education, self-education, self-organization.

The activity of self-development characterizes a person as an individual, as a transformer of himself, society, and nature. Without it it is impossible to achieve success. Personal self-development is an alternative to unconscious development carried out under the influence of external circumstances.

Titus Maccius Plautus very accurately defined the essence of human self-development many centuries before it became a trend for psychologists and coaches: “The wise man creates his own destiny.”

Psychology of self-development

For a long time, a person was perceived as an object of the external environment, but modern psychology looks at him as an active subject of self-development. As scientists say, his purpose is to be a self-actualizing person, that is, to have a dominant motivation for development and not strive for peace.

Recently, universities have made it mandatory for students to develop such competence as “readiness for self-development.” There is even a separate discipline that is taught mainly for psychologists and teachers - “Psychology of Self-Development”.

Psychology of self-development is a direction in science that studies the processes of self-change, active construction by a person of himself at all levels of his organization:

• physical,
• social,
• personal,
• spiritual.

The goal of self-development psychology is to understand how a person can intentionally change himself and manage his development.

Self-development books, films, and audiobooks are being released one after another. And how many different psychologists, coaches, personal growth trainers, and specialists in working with the subconscious have appeared who consider it their professional calling to help others improve themselves!

IT specialists say that the results in Internet search engines for the queries “self-development” and self-development have increased 10 times over the past decade.

How to maintain interest

Whatever you do, try to incorporate learning into your life in a way that doesn't feel like a chore. This process should become an organic part of your day and not interfere with your daily activities.

Interesting self-development will draw you into this endless process of self-improvement and push you to new discoveries, travel and who knows what else.

Why do you need self-development?

The possibilities for personal self-development are colossal. It is valuable for:

• Human
  Self-improvement allows you to satisfy material and non-material needs. A person finds himself and becomes happy.
• Society.
  Society and civilization move forward thanks to self-actualized people.

People around you pay more attention to your ability for personal self-development than you think. For example, when deciding to hire you, the employer evaluates your willingness to improve yourself. If you are a motivated person, but at the same time have poor knowledge of the profession, your candidacy may be preferable to an experienced but apathetic specialist.

Self-development is the only way out if you are dissatisfied with your life, suffer failures, and are unsure of the future. A self-motivated and hardworking person can achieve almost anything.

Keep in mind that not all self-development is valuable. Let's look at examples:

• Self-development in asocial directions.
  You can be born into a dysfunctional family, spend your childhood in poor neighborhoods that are a breeding ground for crime, set a goal to become a bandit and not only achieve it, but turn into a drug lord who has established global trafficking of illegal substances around the world using airplanes and submarines. Isn't this about self-development? Something else: intelligence, character, communication! But its ethical value is minus.
• Self-development, in which the development of personality is asymmetrical (some become better, and some become worse).
  The most obvious example is devoting your life to a career and achieving a high position in society, because of which humanity is lost. “Machines” for making money, dishonest politicians have been intensively engaged in self-development all their lives. How are they doing with kindness, decency, and caring for their neighbors?
• Self-development involuntarily.
  Sometimes a person is forced to engage in self-development not because his personality needs it, but because there is such a request from the outside. For example, if he is afraid of losing his job or is captive of a promise, responsibility to someone else.

Basic mental processes

Development is a change in a person’s inner world under the influence of external factors and one’s own actions, purposeful activity to achieve a result. This is a conscious work that requires quantitative and qualitative changes. Self-development, according to psychology, is development that occurs due to the high activity of the person himself.

From an early age, parents guide their children through training and education. Under the influence of external and internal factors, personality is formed, intellectual, moral, and physical qualities appear.

Development takes place in different ways. Some move from class to class, then go to university because “it’s necessary,” and go to work in their specialty. Others try themselves in different fields, change directions, and look for something new.

Where does the activity come from? From the interaction between man and the outside world. The mediator is human cognition and its basic mental processes:

• sensation is what life begins with, the influence of warm, cold, hard and soft;
• perception – comparison of the characteristics of objects to create a complete picture;
• thinking is the process of establishing connections between objects or their characteristics, as well as analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization and abstraction, obtaining new knowledge about the world;
• imagination is the transformation of knowledge about objects of the external world, ways of interacting with them;
• memory is the process of accumulating knowledge about the surrounding reality, one’s own experiences, thoughts and conclusions regarding objects and processes;
• attention is the selective direction of consciousness towards solving a problem.

Most people are endowed with the same sense organs, but other mental processes are a reflection or processing of information received at the sensation stage.

Perception is selective. Depends on the strength of the stimulus, interest, experience and focus. Thinking is aimed at solving a problem, and the problem comes out of a problem or problematic situation, one that forces you to look for a non-standard solution. Imagination is the process of creating images that reflect reality and its processes - experience. Ability directly depends on experience. Memory is the selection and recording of significant information, which is mediated by emotion, interest, and purpose. Attention is associated with feelings, interests, experiences.

Why is a person given all these abilities? For survival. The ability of an individual to adapt to new circumstances depends on its development. The need for adaptation is one of the mechanisms of personal development and growth in psychology. Her breakdown is the same crisis of self-development.

What hinders self-development

Many people live for today, go with the flow, without thinking about changing themselves. They do not acquire new qualities, do not get rid of old habits and character traits.

Why is this happening? The most obvious reasons:

• Laziness.
  When was the last time you read a book? Did you do gymnastics? Did you go to the museum? Did you choose the music or film yourself, and not the radio station or television? Laziness is a string of missed opportunities.
• Stereotypical thinking.
  In a world where the economy decides for you what you will eat, wear, love, hate, think, there is almost no room left for your own intellectual and spiritual efforts.
• Lack of learning values ​​in the personal hierarchy.
  And what kind of self-development can we talk about if you “have completed your studies at school and university, have suffered, and can no longer be dragged into these networks”? Unfortunately, this is how some people perceive education, as a value imposed by parents and society. Perhaps in childhood and adolescence something did not work out, and the learning process became associated with failure, suppression of the individual, and injustice. Now everything can be different! Nobody demands anything from you. You can master web design or knitting blankets from thick yarn. Herself. Only what you want.
• Fear of failure.
  “If something didn’t work before, then a new attempt will also fail.”
  This is a harmful misconception. So many great people started out as failures. Henry Ford.
  The creator of Ford cars failed miserably in his first two projects related to the development of cars.
• Marilyn Monroe.
  The great and beautiful actress, whose childhood was spent in orphanages and foster families, spent several years hearing from film studios that she had neither beauty nor talent before she received a major role.
• Walt Disney.
  The creator of one of the largest media conglomerates was kicked out of his first job (as a cartoonist) for incompetence.
• Elvis Presley.
  At the beginning of his career, the King of Rock and Roll failed performances, listened to advice to return to work as a truck driver and accusations that he could not sing.
• Joanne Rowling.
  The writer was refused publication of her first book about Harry Potter 11 times!

How to read books correctly

1. Reading a book and taking notes
2. Write down inspiring moments and quotes
3. In a couple of sentences we formulate the main idea of ​​the book
4. Putting knowledge into practice

Books are an inexhaustible source of knowledge, but we often simply forget important points or do not attach importance to them. That is why you need to write out or mark the main thoughts in a special way.

And it is equally important to put them into practice. This way, you will consolidate the acquired knowledge and at the same time check how the book methods work;)

Stages of self-development

Now let’s figure out what the self-development system consists of. Yes, yes, a system, not a chaotic set of actions! It includes increasing awareness, acquiring the ability to control oneself, and developing willpower. Before you begin personal growth, you must have a plan, a self-development program.

Psychologists identify the following stages of self-development:

1. Self-knowledge.
   The tasks of self-development at this stage are to find yourself, understand your priorities, values, and calling.
2. Awareness of shortcomings.
   Everyone has them. If you think you don't have them, you're wrong. The shortcomings must be discovered. Correctable - correct, incorrigible - admit. And accept yourself as imperfect. A person who has not learned to maintain a certain level of self-acceptance seeks excuses for himself, finds faults in others and attracts the same “toxic” people.
3. Setting goals.
   At this stage you should understand what you want. It's not as simple as it seems. Usually a person easily answers what he does not want - the bad life and difficulties in which he is stuck. But it’s easy to complain that you’re a victim of circumstances, but come up with a constructive alternative! How should everything be in your life? This is a very important stage. The main thing is not to lose it.
4. Developing ways to achieve goals.
   It is important to go through as many options as possible in order to make a choice later. This stage is more difficult than the previous ones. May require turning to self-development books, films, audiobooks, courses, and possibly specialists.
5. Taking action.
   The vector was specified at the previous stage. Now you need to move in the chosen direction without losing your way.

After achieving the goal, return to the first point, and everything will be new. The process of self-development is continuous and cyclical.

Ways of personal self-improvement

Self-improvement should begin with sleep. You need to sleep less. After all, for proper rest, a person needs only about 8 hours of daily sleep. Therefore, train yourself to get up 1 hour earlier than your usual time. This way you will have more free time to implement your ideas and plans.

Try to do more important things first. Every day in the evening, analyze the rationality of the time and energy spent. Make your slogan the phrase - if you manage time, therefore you manage life. You need to communicate with enthusiasm and confidence on the phone. Be sure to show respect to your interlocutor.

You should always remember the goal, not the end. Do work not for recognition, but for pleasure.

Laugh more, especially in the morning. Raise your mood with a smile, charge your body with vigor.

Summarizing the above, it should be concluded that the main components of the processes of self-improvement and self-development are: dream, systematicity and discipline, goal and achievement, reason, the power of happiness, inspiration, responsiveness, the physical state of the body and the soul. It is the development of personality and its self-improvement that are the main tasks for realizing oneself in life and the world.

Directions of self-development

Before you start mastering different methods of self-development, you need to know that psychologists identify four main vectors of this process:

• creating conditions for a comfortable own life,
• achieving success in interpersonal relationships,
• realization of creative potential,
• formation of a motivation system and self-improvement in various important areas.

There are several areas of life in which you should develop consciously. The following areas of development can be identified:

• physical self-development (improving the functioning of the body for health and beauty),
• spiritual self-development (improvement of the inner world and ethical values),
• personal self-development (self-knowledge and self-improvement of character, intelligence, creative abilities, cultural ideas, etc.),
• social self-development (development of relationships with people),
• professional self-development (career building),
• financial self-development (development of money handling skills),
• leisure self-development (entertainment, recreation, hobbies).

A person must improve in all these areas, so your personal self-development list should not ignore any of them.

Conclusion

It is impossible to develop, focusing only on action, without receiving a response in the inner world. This quickly leads to psychological burnout. You can't get very far with self-control.

Business, occupation, work should complement the picture of the inner world, improve self-esteem, and help improve. Realizing this, many see a mistake in choosing a profession. But don't despair. It's never too late to develop.

Where to start self-development

Since you are reading this article, you are already on the path of self-development. Independent search for information, and not reckless consumption of everything that is beneficial for someone to impose on you, is one of the tools for conscious improvement.

The beginning of self-development can be different: taking care of your own body with the help of health-improving and rejuvenating gymnastics, reading books, watching films, English lessons, taking professional courses, providing volunteer help... The options are endless. But remember that before you take action, you need to understand yourself and set goals (see the chapter “Stages of Self-Development”). Motivation and self-development are inseparable processes. And there’s no need for these feverish actions: “I signed up for a Zumba class and now, along with a crowd of the same losers, I’m jumping with all my might, but there’s no point”! Do only what is useful to you in life, from which you expect specific positive changes.

If you can’t figure yourself out on your own, there are many self-development teachers who are just waiting for the opportunity to help you. But here you have to be careful! Everyone is now trying to teach others how to live correctly: from celebrities, businessmen and politicians to lively housewives without education who run their Instagram channel without getting out of their slippers.

Collect a thorough dossier on your coach before entrusting your destiny to him (for considerable sums, by the way). And, of course, this should be an accomplished person, whom you are not ashamed to be like. It’s like with an eyebrow artist: you only need to go to the one whose eyebrows you like; if he can’t make beautiful arches for himself, then you will have complete nonsense instead of mesmerizing curves. And here the principle is the same. Do you know those self-development coaches who create motivation to gain wealth and prosperity, while they themselves huddle in a rented room all alone? In general, be careful!/p>

Personal self-improvement

Self-improvement of a person lies in a kind of self-education or is a purposeful action of the individual in relation to himself for further development. Often, people strive to develop positive qualities in themselves in accordance with their own ideas about the ideal.

There are 6 main stages of self-improvement. At the first stage, the goal of self-improvement is determined. Then an ideal image or ideal result of actions to improve oneself is created. The next stage is to determine the time limits for implementation and identify secondary goals. And the subsequent stages are based on self-knowledge and self-awareness, self-control and self-regulation, self-development.

Where to start self-improvement? There are several general recommendations on which successful development and self-improvement are based.

In order to be able to write down or save ideas that come to mind, you should always have with you a notepad, tablet, voice recorder or other device aimed at storing information. You should choose the most suitable and relevant topic for yourself and tune your brain to generate ideas regarding the chosen topic. Be sure to write down everything that comes to your mind on this matter. Your thoughts can give you a clear idea of ​​what you need to do to improve the quality of your life. As a result, your intentions will become more serious and effective. When you feel that the topic you are working with has already exhausted itself, you should move on to another.

The next immutable rule on the path to self-improvement and success in life is the “here and now” principle. It consists of taking the necessary actions to eradicate the habit of living with beautiful illusions and dreams.

Another important recommendation is the art of achieving more in small steps. To achieve the desired result, you should perform a certain part of the total load every day. This technique is easier to consider using the example of sports. You want to have a beautiful figure, so to get the desired result you need to do certain exercises every day. Only under this condition will a tangible result appear.

Self-improvement is quite difficult to imagine without mastering planning skills. Therefore, you need to divide your day into several blocks, for example, morning, lunch, evening, etc. Using this technique, you can easily track how much time it takes to complete a particular task.

Try to communicate with people who inspire you to achieve achievements and exploits. But it’s better to distance yourself from communicating with individuals, in comparison with whom you have already achieved a lot.

For excellent well-being and excellent appearance, you need to have a fairly good understanding of the following areas: healthy food, physical activity, competent mental self-regulation.

Self-development for men

It is vital for men to achieve goals and prove their strength and worth. Recommendations for organizing and educating self-development for men:

• Start with physical development.
• How long do you sleep? You need to sleep at least 7 hours, and get up no later than eight in the morning.
• Set aside at least half an hour every day to develop your intelligence and learn new skills.
• Analyze what you are wasting your time on and eliminate it from your life. This way you will save invaluable time for self-development.

Useful Personal Qualities

• setting goals is an important skill with which the path of self-development begins;
• acting - the ability to appear before people in the right light and play different roles;
• quick learner and desire to learn new things;
• oratory - the ability to persuade;
• the ability to tell epic stories is an indispensable skill in sales;
• speed reading is a big plus, which will help you absorb large amounts of information;
• active listening or an attentive listener who does not interrupt, but analyzes what is said to him and asks the right questions;
• the ability to save and distribute money - spenders rarely build their own companies;
• foreign languages ​​- knowledge of languages ​​gives you an advantage over competitors: you can read and take ideas from foreign literature and look for business partners abroad;
• planning skill - step-by-step implementation of goals will help you achieve success as quickly as possible.

Self-development for women

The problem for women is that it is difficult for them to find time for self-development, since they support the home and family, raising children, and often also work. Therefore, advice for women and girls on organizing their self-development is as follows:

• Set a time and date when you will begin self-development.
• Eliminate everything unnecessary from your life, free up time by reducing the amount of time you watch TV and gadgets.
• Get up early because the morning is the most productive time for brain activity, and start the day with exercise. They not only have a beneficial effect on physical fitness, but also give impetus to internal changes.
• Dedicate up to 40-50 minutes a day to gymnastics to rejuvenate and heal the body. This is the best self-development for beginners.

Have you decided to engage in self-development? Start with MelAnnett's Basic Marathon!

Methods

These universal tips will not solve your problem, but will make it much easier:

1. Prioritization. Choose the direction that is most important to you and do not waste your energy on secondary goals.
2. Awareness of the brightness of life. Due to the fast pace of life, a person sees reality in gray tones. But to feel the fullness of the moment and the diversity of the world, you just need to stop and look around.
3. Concentration of attention. Increasing the level of self-control allows you to “tame” your brain. He will stop wandering from one thought to another, and you will be able to concentrate on a specific subject.
4. Write it down. Ideas on paper become more tangible. This way you won’t forget about them and won’t lose sight of them.
5. Environment. Communication with positive, successful people has a huge impact, inspires and gives strength to move on.