Personal growth and self-improvement or personal development. This concept is gaining ground so much that we are tempted to ask ourselves many questions. What is Personal Development? What is the origin of Personal Development? Why are people turning to this concept more and more? Is it useful to man these days? Here are some questions that deserve to be addressed.
Definitional Approach to Personal Growth and Self-Improvement
Generally, Personal Development, also called Personal Growth, is a set of approaches, methods, and principles that aims at self-knowledge and self-improvement, valorizing potential, and realizing one’s aspirations and dreams.
In other words, for my part, I define Personal Development as the crossroads where Philosophy and all other human sciences meet to help man go to self-discovery, self-transformation, and self-realization.
Origin of Personal Development
Conventionally, the origins of Personal Development date back to the 18th century and flourished in the 19th century. We accept it this way, but I think that Development goes back even from older times. As soon as the man begins to ask questions: Who am I? Why was I born? How to be useful to humanity? Etc. In a word, any question about his existence and his self-realization: there begins with Personal Development. That said, Development has always existed in one way or another, only that it wasn’t until the 19th century that it was popularized.
Personal Development Goals
Generally speaking, personal development and self-transformation are at the heart of Personal Development. However, I think that the fundamental goal of Personal Development is to boost the individual, push him to action, empower him, make him autonomous, and help a man be useful to humanity and to God.
In this aim, Personal Development is more oriented towards the concrete, the practice. We are looking more at impact and results. The development has tried to combine philotherapy and other sciences by bringing them back to a practical dimension. This is what justifies the diversity of its branches and fields of action.
Why Are People Turning to This Concept More and More?
There is a reality in this world that no one escapes. It is dissatisfaction and the desire to flourish, to remain human despite the blows of life. People feel the need to improve, understand themselves, and discover themselves. Above all, we all aspire to perfect ourselves to achieve our goals. It is this void that Development is trying to fill.
Personal Development has focused on the knowledge of man. He knows how to combine man and his development through his personal growth.
Whatever people say, Personal Development helps transform lives and inspire people to take action, achieve excellence, and make their dreams come true. Personal Development is interested in the great existential questions of the human being: knowing oneself, improving oneself, developing oneself, and succeeding in life…
The Usefulness of Personal Development to Man
Enough knowledge, science, and theories have taken an interest in man, but Personal Development is that which has taken a realistic, concrete, and practical approach to human interest.
Personal development is useful because it combines techniques and approaches from various human and philosophical sciences. As a result, the individual does not need to study and master all of the human sciences. Personal Growth allows you to touch everything. Personal Growth touches on several aspects of a man’s life: mental, emotional, professional, corporal, relational…
However, personal growth is more useful to man when he brings him closer to his creator – to make him useful to humanity and to God – and above all, not to lose sight of the salvation of his soul because the ultimate goal of man is not to live happily only on earth but also to attain eternal life in Christ.