6 Important Aspects of Personal Development
Holistic growth happens when we pay attention to all aspects of personal development. Without balance, we stunt our growth. A father cannot, for example, spend all his time earning money even if it is for the sake of his family. An unbalanced, segmented life is a life that is filled with regret.
It does not mean that giving attention to every aspect of your life will make everything perfect. You will still face obstacles, but you can handle each obstacle that will come your way.
I will discuss the six aspects of personal development and provide you with examples. Your mission today, if personal development is important to you, is to assess in the next few days area of your life and you will explore ways to grow in all directions.
This is part of a series on upgrading skills in personal development.
Aspects of Personal Development
1. Physical
2. Financial
3. Relational (or Emotional)
4. Social
5. Spiritual
6. Intellectual
Aspects of Personal Development
1. Physical
We have different physical goals.
Some people spend hours in a gym each day, while others spend the same number of hours on a couch watching Netflix.
Every morning, some wake up very early for a morning run while some stay in bed until noontime.
Some like to dance. Others do yoga.
Some people want to be thinner. Others want to build Mr. Universe’s muscles.
People seek ways to feel good. Feeling good, of course, is subjective.
In my book, improvement in the physical area has everything to do with health and wellness. The intention is not only to avoid disease but to prolong life and enjoy it.
2. Financial
This is seldom mentioned. Probably because some people think that money has nothing to do with personal development.
On the contrary, many of our goals have something to do with the ability to buy our happiness and peace of mind.
Often, people say that they cannot take care of their health and wellness because they don’t have the financial capability to maintain it.
We all want to grow our ability to monetize our assets. We don’t just want to grow healthy, we also want to be wealthy. Wealth and wellness go together.
We need to develop the mindset and abilities to become healthy, wealthy, and happy.
3. Relational (or Emotional)
Becoming connected with others is a legitimate personal goal. To love and be loved by someone is in our DNA. To belong to a happy family or to form one is a dream that most of us seek.
Above, I said that one goal of personality development is to be able to sell ourselves to others (personal branding). Personal development, on the other hand, is our desire to become part of others.
Our relational goals are often more significant than our social goals.
4. Social
At the very least, our social goal is to live in harmony with the people in our community. My village is my community. Here I see people, I talk to some of them. I get to interact with some, even during the time of the pandemic, every time I walk my dog.
Some people have online communities. There are communities for online gamer's, content writers, book lovers, and so on.
We want to belong.
Some seek higher status in social groups. They find happiness being looked up to in a community. They invest time and other resources to get the status they desire.
In creating your development plan, you may include your networking strategy. You will identify the kind of people you want to be associated with.
5. Spiritual
You do not have to be religious to be spiritual. At least, that’s what some people say about themselves.
Some people join religions because they want to ensure that they get to a better place after they die. And some even go to the extent of thinking that they’ll be the only people who will be saved. These are their beliefs, which though I don’t agree with, I respect.
I am not sure if atheists are not spiritual. They don’t believe in spiritualism. Likely, they are not pursuing the belief in the “Supreme Being”. But a lot of them are spending much time explaining their beliefs.
Maybe, it has something to do with their intellectual goals.
I believe that even if people do not have spiritual and religious goals, they seek to become good persons.Becoming a good person is a goal worth our time.
6. Intellectual
Most of us who went to school understand that the pursuit of education is intellectual growth. Some of us seek knowledge for knowledge is power. Others seek knowledge for what it brings.
Many of us went to college, not because of knowledge, but because graduating from college would make us look more knowledgeable. We want a good job.
Of course, we have heard of college dropouts who eventually became billionaires.
Intellectual growth is in my personal development plan because it helped me grow in other areas of my life. It is a multiplier and amplifier.
So, I read books and articles each day. I listen to podcasts, and I write a lot. I invest in personal development.
By Jef Menguin