How I Have Personally Developed Myself

How I Have Personally Developed Myself:

A couple years ago I started working for a company that prides itself on developing its employees.  I had no idea about personal development nor did I care to really explore the options in which I had been given to personally develop myself. I had never picked up a self-help book and I never viewed my life as something that needed help or that I needed to change my life.  I don’t necessarily think that there was anything wrong with my life when I started on my path of personal development. I do think that I have since become a better more rounded person and I contribute that to the steps I have taken with my own personal development.

After a few months I decided to read one of the books that were chosen by my work to help with personal development. It was called the Happiness Project. Much to my surprise this book was not lame like I thought it was going to be but enlightening. Just the tid bits of advice that I received from the book would help me in my life as well as in my job.

Here are a few keynotes that I took from the book:

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

"You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything you want. This insight is remarkably similarly to the one I had a couple of years ago, when I realized that I can buy anything I want, but can’t buy everything I want."

It was this book that really helped me take a step forward in the right direction for my personal development. I would suggest that anyone who wants to be even a little bit happier in their life they should read this book. 

Another journey that I went on for my own personal development was attending what is called “The Landmark Forum”. This is a perk that the company I work for provides and one that helped me out a lot in my life. The forum is only three and a half days but it was the hardest three and a half days of my life mentally. I spent from 8am till 9pm in a room with a bunch of people I did not know telling me their life story. It was incredibly awkward but also extremely incredible that people could share their deepest secrets with a stranger. By people sharing their stories they helped not only themselves to grow but also everyone around them was able to grow as well. It is hard to explain what happened throughout the forum but by completing it I was able to bring what I learned and apply it to my personal life as well as work. 

The next step I have taken in my personal development is to read another book called “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. 

The 7 habits are as followed:

Habit 1: Be proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put first Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw 

The Seven Habits Paradigm is something that is both interesting as well as a really helpful visual on how these habits will help me improve my personal as well as my professional problems. 

I have only just begun to read this book but I do think that this book will really help with my personal development and growth. I will keep everyone posted!