The Qualities of Self Development

The Qualities of Self
Development
TALENT AND SKILLS HUB
Copyright © 2021 Talent & Skills HuB

Introduction
To live a fulfilled life or attain the level of
achievement you desire in life, it is essential that you
develop yourself to the fullest potential, whether in
work, relationships, family, endeavours, sport,
whatever.
It requires a mix of qualities, mindsets, and
behaviours. Here are the most important of these
qualities.

Attitude
Attitude is the start and end of all self-
development work. Without the right positive
attitude of self-belief, you will not achieve
anything of important in your life.
With it, everything is possible. Charles
Swindoll: ‘I am convinced that life is 10%
what happens to me and 90% how I react to
it”.

Attitude
Mike peddler in his book “managing yourself” suggests
that there are three mental attitudes that self-managers
require:
Security based on your past experiences and an awareness
of who you see yourself to be
Faith based on a belief in your talents, your opportunities
and your abilities
Hope based on a certainty that you can advance towards
your goals

Ability
You will have a tough time achieve your full potential
in life if you try to do something you have no gift for.
It is much easier to find out your own unique gift and
develop these.
Here is what Quentin Crisps says: “It’s no good
running a pig farm badly for thirty years while saying,
“Really I was meant to be a ballet banker”. By that
time, pig will have become your style”.

Faith
The one thing that distinguishes those who realize
their full potential and those that don’t is Self-Belief.
In fact, the strength of your self-belief is the one
thing that determines whether you conquer foothills.
But self-belief, or faith, is not easy. It means a belief
in something that you can’t prove of. It means
believing in life’s magic.
Faith is like a bird that feels dawn breaking while it
is still dark”. (Scandinavian proverb) Copyright © 2021 Talent & Skills HuB

Faith
There are many Inspiring stories of people in everyday
situations who refuse to give in to wisdom and limit their
dreams.
Chris Prerrier for example. Chris was a 15-year old looking
for his first job on leaving school when he made up his mind
that he would pursue his dream of dream of becoming a
professional footballer.
On April 15th 1997, Chris achieved his dream by signing on
for Second Division Walsall in front of a 6,000-plus crowd.
Nothing remarkable about that, you might think. But the
photographs tell a different story: Chris was born with only
one arm.
Chris achieved the first step in his dream by overcoming his
own mental and physical limitations.

Industry
There is a common fallacy that self-
development work is purely a mental
undertaking. Much of it is, perhaps most
of it.
But when the mental side is right, you
still need to take action and work your
socks off to achieve the goals you want
for yourselves.
Novelist Charles Dickens put this way:
“Industry is the soul of business and of
business and the Keystone of
Prosperity”.

Courage
It is easy to start process of self-development, much harder
to keep it going, particular when the score seems to be
going against us.
That’s when we need courage. Lots of it. Sometimes we
need a bold David versus Goliath kind of courage.
At other times, we need a quieter courage, the kind
described by Mary Radmacher-Hershey: “courage doesn’t
always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day
saying: “I will try again tomorrow”. Copyright © 2021 Talent & Skills HuB

Courage
In 1995 Norman Vaughan conquered his mountain at last, Norman Vaughan
was one of the earliest explorers to map out the landmass of Antarctica.
In 1925, he discovered an ice-capped mountain 10,000 feet high. His fellow
explorers named it Mt Vaughan after him.
For over 60 years, Norman cherished the dreams of actually climbing his
mountain. The chance came when at the age of 89, he made an expedition to
Antarctica. But it was a disaster.
The plane crashed, killing his dogs, injuring the pilot and scuppering the whole
expedition. Norman determined to fulfil his dreams.
The next year he tries again, despite serious arthritis in his legs and a dangerous
icy climb that would have taxed a man a quarter his age, Norman eventually
made it to the top of his mountain. “It is not mountains we conquer but
ourselves”. (Sir Edmund Hilary)

Chance
The combination of all the factors of genuine self-
development, such as ability, faith, self-belief, and
awareness, are the factors that produce what we call “luck”.
Quantum physicists tell us that there is no such thing in the
universe as random accidents.
Everything that happens to us is a result of mental self-
belief and our physical action. In fact, we always get what
we expect to get, no more, no less.
Amatole France described it this way: “Chance is the
pseudonym God uses when he doesn’t want to sign his
name”

Perseverance
All self-developers know the feeling of working hard to
they imagine is the finishing line only to find that the line
has moved further on when they get there.
In truth, when we have big goals and many goals, there
is no finishing line.
But we still need to persevere, “All endeavour calls for
the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan,
endure the last hours’ toil.
In the fight to the finish, spirit is the one characteristics
we must possess if we are to face the future as
finishers”(Henry David Thoreau).

Perseverance
All personal growth follows a similar curve which has its own
momentum and takes its own time. We can identify 7 stages on the
route to achieving a goal:
1. The initial blip on the growth curve is the initial excitement of
our goals. Our motivation is high.
2. Disappointment sets in soon after the initial blip when we
realize things aren’t going to be as easy as we thought.
3. Failures outstrips success and we begin to wonder if we did the
right thing. This is the time for strong self-belief.

Perseverance
The arid plateau at the bottom of the trough is when we
stabilise things. This is the time to invest in the future.
Dogged persistence accomplished by learning sends the
curves upwards.
The point of breakthrough occurs when we find the
formula that works for us.
We move comfortable to the goals we set and are able
to think about setting new ones

Final Analysis
In the final analysis, it doesn’t much matter you
become a champion on the stage or a champion in
your own little neck of woods.
The feeling you will have exactly one of the
same: one of satisfaction, achievement, and
triumph.

Key Points
No matter how bad things seem, every situation in life has
strengths which can be exploited.
The limitations on what we can do in our lives are largely
self-imposed.
Sound values and character-building principles are the
foundations of personal growth.
When we use the principles of self-management, our growth
towards a goal is teleological, like a missile.
Just as individuals can develop themselves, given the right
principle, so can organizations and teams.
Organizations cannot develop the potential of their people
unless they change their styles of managing from
disempowering to empowering ones.

Talent &
Skills HuB
T&S-HuB is an enabling environment that supports people
in the development of their talents and skills and in the
actualisation of their personal passions and ambitions.
We help learners and individuals sharpen and exhibit their
talents and skills while exploring relevant and life
changing opportunities that suit their passions.
You can be supported by our instructors, counsellors, and
mentors on employability skills and other personal and
professional development.
Book an appointment for one-to-one or group tutoring
through our website; ts-hub.com
You can also contact us via email: contactus@ts-hub.com

Reference and
Further
Reading
Garner, E. (2012) Maximizing Your Potential:
Be all you can be. [eBook] Eric Garner &
bookboon.com

The Qualities of Self Development

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