The Myths of Self-Development & Personal Growth

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It is quite obvious that self-development and personal growth is an essential ingredient to living a fuller life. So why is it that so few people actually go out of their way to achieve this in their life? This article will look at some of the myths surround this vital area of life that needs to be addressed as well as why so many people are afraid of it.

1.  The first and biggest myth is that personal growth is a lot of work and takes too much time. People, especially men, spend much of their waking life at work and then the rest of their time with their families. While this is honorable these men need to make time for self-development more than anybody because of their extra responsibilities.  By doing so they would likely learn how to manage their time better so they are no so overbooked. Plus if something is a priority to you then you will make time for it.

2.  That goes into the other myth that self-development is too much work. It is safe to say that taking steps toward personal growth does not take all that much work. This is mainly because the discipline is all about learning how to simplify and prioritize. If anything it makes life easier; all you have to do is zero in on what you want which involves really getting to know yourselves.

3.  The third myth of self-development is that it is only for people who have messed up lives who need to make a lot of changes. There was a meme on Facebook recently that showed a picture of a black sheep. The caption said “I may be the black sheep of the family but the rest of my family are not as white as they pretend to be.”   Or as one commenter posted, “Everybody in my family is a black sheep, they just don’t know it yet.”  The moral to the story is no one is perfect. Some people just have issues that are more obvious. Also personal growth does not have to involve changes but it usually does anyway.  It is all about learning to accept yourself for who you are and learning how to love yourself so you can properly love others. That being said if you see something you don’t like about yourself and you feel is holding you back, then you may very well want to make the change anyway. Like any other passion in life a passion doesn’t feel like work if it is something you really want to accomplish.

4.  There are a lot of people who think personal growth is just a passing phase or a “quick fix”. Or they think it’s all about positive thinking only. While the latter is true it is so much more than that. It’s not solely about positive thinking as it is about changing your thoughts to something positive, and applying it to your life. It does take work but if you really want to die it you will find ways to make it easy on yourself. It is not just a quick-fix though; it is becoming more in tune with who you are so that you can find your purpose in life. It is something that can benefit you the rest of you the rest of your life as you encounter new challenges.

5.  Lastly, there are still others who think those who make time for personal growth simply have no ambition for life. These types are usually workaholics with no work-life balance and who work 70 or more hours per week. This goes with the section about people who tried to be sheep without realizing they were black sheep. While ambition and money is a good thing, if you are chasing after the dollar and putting in that many hours you are clearly using your work to self-medicate and fill a void.  These types may act balanced but being a workaholic shows they are out of balance. Many people who are ambitious benefit from self-development and personal growth while they are at work by listening to audio books or podcasts with their headphones on. It helps them to get through their day and relieve their stress.

Now that we have went through all of the possible myths of personal growth and self-development is there any other reason you can think of to not want to make time for this crucial area in your life? Simply put most people are not in tune with their emotions. The big thing about personal growth is that it does involve self-examination. Those that don’t make a habit of living mindfully usually have intense emotional problems. At its root they are afraid of who they are. Therefore any steps toward self-development terrifies them because they are afraid of what they might learn; even if it is good. 

- Erwin Bishop