Psychological Health
There is usually an issue at the core of our lives. Sometimes we don’t know what it is. Sometimes we do. In my case I didn’t. I had spent my life trying to be good at stuff. I had investigated a couple of areas I loved and learned stuff about them. I was an OK [...]
Self development can start to feel like a serious business. Living authentically can sound heavy. It’s good to giggle. Laughter can bring a sense of proportion and lightness. Focusing on our goals, necessary to be sure, can make us awfully tunnel visioned. Fun lets our focus widen. It Sounds Strange to Say: “Work at [...]
Work and Meaning I am impressed by how having meaningful work contributes to our sense of joy and our ability to cope with difficulties. I have seen this even with people who are very depressed or have other major ‘mental health’ problems. Why would this be? I think it shows us how important meaning [...]
Self Development in History [Feel free to skip this bit, I am using it to set the context. It is background information not directly relevant to developing expertise.] The modern model of self development was set by Samuel Smiles‘s book Self Help. It contained that distinctive mix of principles and stories [...]
One thing that I hope sets this blog apart from other self development blogs is that I give you a roadmap. This means that I don’t set myself up as a guru. You aren’t reliant on me once you have the same map as me. A roadmap can be compared to the road you are [...]
In self development there is a difficulty about setting a direction or giving instruction. Directions and instructions tend to be regarded (often correctly) as “shoulds”. And telling someone else what to do is regarded (often correctly) as disrespectful of the other’s autonomy. [This sometimes leads to the conclusion that there is no ethical dimension to [...]
Continue reading about Developing Your Own Style of Living or Collaborating With Life
Perhaps I am a born teacher or learner. I am impressed by how much of who we are is learnt. We learn: to walk to speak our first language sports hobbies schooling social etiquette rules of our particular workplace and so much else There is nothing so natural to people as learning. Which leads [...]
Continue reading about Learning Self Development Authentically
Today, a guest post from Harriet M Welch. It is a post about what happens when one stage of life ends and it feels like we don’t have a purpose anymore. I recently did a post about Authenticity and the Stages of Life. This post is the ‘inside story’ on what it feels like when [...]
Continue reading about When It Feels Like Your Purpose Has Run Out
The last post was about change happens and sometimes we need to mourn. The complement to this is that there are some parts of us that remain fairly stable. I think there are two broad kinds of themes in our lives. The first is about our individuality (passion, interest, style) and the other is about [...]
For me our self development needs to be based on something real in our selves. There needs to be a real self that develops – not just something that we make up. For me authenticity is the key to self development: the fake doesn’t provide lasting satisfaction. But how lasting is that satisfaction? Change is [...]
Continue reading about Self Development and the Stages of Life
