What Is Personal Development?

by Inspired Personal Development 

What is personal development all about, and what can you expect as an outcome of cultivating it?

Obviously, personal development is about your own growth... personal growth regarding your knowledge, your perspectives, or abilities. And, the term development is used in a positive sense. For example, learning to be peaceful rather than learning to be angry!

Basically, it is about moving beyond the person you were yesterday, and stretching to new heights... above what you have previously experienced.

Personal development is entirely natural, and as such it is ongoing in your life.

Even if unsolicited, self improvement opportunities come our way every day. If you focus on looking for them, you'll bound to see them.

They might be as inconspicuous as the opportunity you have to cultivate your understanding when dealing with an unpleasant sales person at the grocery store, or; the physical benefit gained by having to carry the heavy groceries to your car.

Intentionally pursuing self development has become a popular interest for millions. This seems to be testament to the fact that we are hungry for evolution. We are made for learning new things, and so we seek out methods that promote our growth.

What is Personal Development to You?

There are a multitude of different life areas you can focus on to gain new knowledge and capabilities.

What is important in personal development to you may be very different to the type of self improvement that is important to someone else.

Although the broadest definition of personal development encompasses improvement in every area of your life, you may be more interested and focused on just some of these areas:

1. Intellectual life - mental processes, and education
2. Emotional life � happiness, peacefulness and other emotions tied in with your thoughts and understandings 
   
   
   
3.  Spiritual life � experience of life transcending the physical
4. Social life - relationships and community
5. Career � expressing yourself through your work and contributing to society
6. Health and fitness � physical well-being
7. Financial life � monetary management
   

What is Personal Development Going to Reward You With?

People pursue self development as a means to what is considered becoming 'better' in their lives, in some regard.

The 7 categories above are vast, and just a few things you might achieve by cultivating your personal growth are: being more organised, or kinder, happier, more peaceful, understanding, more mindful, more confident, more loving, more effective at work, healthier, or more successful financially.
Really, it's all about what you want! And that is another likely reason personal development is so popular... there are a multitude of things that you have an excellent chance of achieving through a bit of research and application.

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