The importance of personal development in self-leadership

“Men are eager to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; therefore, they are bound.(James Allen)

On the path of self-leadership it is important to address the importance of personal development. It all starts with being dissatisfied with the way things are. There is no one alive who can claim to be a finished product. We are all a work in progress. Personally, I’m not where I used to be, but I’m certainly not anywhere near where I should be in terms of all that I can be. It takes humility and honesty to admit that you are not “all that” and that you are not “all there is.” We have good intentions and sometimes the right motivation, but this alone is not enough. There has to be a willingness to put in the necessary work in order to achieve the goal. It is an illusion to imagine that you can change anything important without improving yourself. Let’s look at some of the areas that need work.

1. “self talk” (positive or negative things you constantly tell yourself)

2. “self-image” (how you see yourself)

3. self-motivation (what drives you).

4. “self-discipline” (restraint, being strict with oneself)

These are all part of the self-leadership puzzle and when they come together, life becomes beautiful. Sometimes the desire to change and develop can be strong, but what if obstacles and reality speak louder than the desire you have? It is not wise to proceed without knowing exactly what you are dealing with. Let’s identify some obstacles that one needs to overcome to begin the process of self-development:

1. Unwillingness to change – “I stand firm in my ways”

2. The Power of the Past – “It’s hard to say goodbye to yesterday”

3. An inflexible mindset – “I’ve always done it that way”

4. Associations – “I can’t let go of some of my old associations”

5. An idle mind – “It’s too much work, I have the right to be lazy”

I urge you to do a self-assessment based on the five areas mentioned above. There may be more depending on your particular case. You will begin to notice that you need a change mainly in the mind. That is the “battlefield” where most wars take place. Where the mind goes, man follows! There are preconceived negative ideas, attitudes, habits and associations that must be dispelled. If you are satisfied, you may not need to make any changes. If you don’t like what’s happening or the results you’re getting, you can always change and it starts with the decision to become someone you’ve never been before. Albert Einstein said: “We cannot solve problems using the same type of thinking that we used when we created them.” Don’t wait for next year to change your thinking. The time to make the changes is NOW!

We live in a time where there is a lot of learning. It is possible to learn all the new skills and even spend a fortune without getting results. Acquiring new knowledge without a new mind is like putting new wine into old wineskins. Change your mind!

Solving the problem of the mind positions you for real transformation. Personal development does not happen by itself. Physical growth is inevitable; personal growth takes decisive action. If you’re not growing, then you can’t achieve greatness. What skills will you acquire to remain relevant in your chosen field? Now it has become easy to be “self-taught”, thanks to the free online courses that are widely offered. Ivy League Universities like Harvard, Preston for example have resources on their websites that you can easily access. With YouTube, we can learn just about anything, at any time, spending as little as thirty minutes a day on tutorials. You can read at least one book in a month. It’s time to grow up!

I remember when we were trying to develop different concepts for an advertising campaign. We seemed to be stuck and couldn’t come up with creative ideas. That’s when the director told everyone to stop and go online for “stimulus”, ie exposing ourselves to different concepts to stimulate the mind. What does this have to do with personal development? You need the right environment, the right exposure to nurture your quest for improvement. A child who grew up in a poor home, in a poor neighborhood, will never aspire to anything different until, through the exhibition, he sees that it is possible to create a different, better reality. Jealously guard your environment; The people, places, and ideas you are exposed to are important. There are many good inspirational movies out there. If watching movies isn’t your thing, surround yourself with stories of people who have triumphed over adversity and achieved what you’re trying to do. Look them up, take them out to lunch, download their testimonials from the internet. It will save you time to learn from your mistakes.