PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

definition:
Personal development is a lifelong process. It’s a way for people to assess their skills and qualities, consider their aims in life and set goals in order to realise and maximise their potentials.Although early life development and early formative experiences within the family, at school, etc. can help to shape us as adults, personal development should not stop later in life.

criticism:
even though self development is very constructive and effective; some scholars targeted it as misleading;in fact; the producer and screenwriter Steve Salerno portrayed the self-help movement as harmful and ineffective in achieving its goals;stating that 80% of self-help customers keep coming back whether the program worked for them or not.
others indicate that it's kind of addiction : the more people read them the more they think they need them.

maslow's hierarchy of needs:

A Theory of Personal Development
There are many ideas surrounding personal development, one of which is detailed below - Abraham Maslow's process of Self Actualisation.
Self Actualisation
Maslow (1970) suggests that all individuals have an in-built need for personal development which occurs through the process called self-actualisation.
The extent to which people are able to develop depends on certain needs being met and these needs form a hierarchy. Only when one level of need is satisfied can a higher one be developed. As change occurs throughout life, however, the level of need motivating someone’s behaviour at any one time will also change.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Love and Belongingness, Esteem Needs, Cognitive Needs, Aesthetic Needs and Self-Actualisation.
At the bottom of the hierarchy are the basic physiological needs for food, drink, sex and sleep, i.e., the basics for survival.
Second are the needs for safety and security in both the physical and economic sense.
Thirdly, progression can be made to satisfying the need for love and belonging.
The fourth level refers to meeting the need for self-esteem and self-worth. This is the level most closely related to ‘self-empowerment’.
The fifth level relates to the need to understand. This level includes more abstract ideas such as curiosity and the search for meaning or purpose and a deeper understanding.
The sixth relates to aesthetic needs of beauty, symmetry and order. At the top of Maslow’s hierarchy, is the need for self-actualisation.
Maslow (1970, p.383) says that all individuals have the need to see themselves as competent and autonomous, also that every person has limitless room for growth.
Self-actualisation refers to the desire that everybody has ‘to become everything that they are capable of becoming’. In other words, it refers to self-fulfilment and the need to reach full potential as a unique human being.
For Maslow, the path to self-actualisation involves being in touch with your feelings, experiencing life fully and with total concentration.
Maslow, A. H. (1970), Motivation and Personality, (2nd Edition), Harper & Row, New York

what you learn from personal development:

origins:

* Aristotle and the Western tradition
The Greek philosopher Aristotle
influenced theories of personal development in the West.
In his Ethics, Aristotle defined personal
development as a category of practical
wisdom, where he directed his attention especially to practice and discipline

skills to learn from personal development

1.time management

It’s easy to waste time if you haven’t got a clear plan of how you are going to assign it to various tasks. By employing time-management techniques, you can improve your punctuality and professionalism, while making more time for the things that are really important to you. There are fantastic apps to help you with this, such as this time clock app.

2.creativity

Some believe creativity can’t be learned, but everyone has some capacity for it – it just might be well hidden. There are plenty of exercises and activities that can be employed to foster a more creative mindset, which can be valuable in a number of professional and personal situations. Never forget how business is linked with creativity. What can you do to foster it and bring it to your work environment?

3.clear speech

Being able to speak clearly, making sure that words are properly enunciated and given the right energy, is an underrated talent, and one that can be especially useful when giving presentations or attending interviews. By learning a few tricks, and doing a bit of practice on your own time, you can improve on this vital aspect of your communication skills.

4.Self awareness

Becoming self-aware is a long process, but by knowing yourself, you will be much better placed to make the right decisions about your professional and personal life and enables personal development on the highest levels. There are lots of things you can do to promote self-awareness in yourself – for example, by filling out personality tests or brainstorming.