Self-Development

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
Self-Development
SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Make the most of your potential

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Self-Development
Attribution: All images are from sources where a Creative Commons license exists for commercial use. All icons are on subscription
from thenounproject. All clipart is from free sources. The MTL Professional Development Programme is copyright of Manage Train
Learn.
Self-
Development
Introduction: Everyone has it in them to develop themselves to their fullest
potential, whether in work, relationships, family, endeavours, sport, whatever. It
requires a mix of qualities, mind-sets, and behaviours. In this topic, we’ll look at 7 of
the most important features of self-development.

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Self-Development
1. ATTITUDE
Attitude is the start and end point of all self-
development work. Without the right positive
attitude of self-belief, you will not achieve
anything of importance in your life. With it,
everything is possible. As Charles Swindoll put it:
“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to
me and 90% how I react to it.”
Your attitude is responsible for 100% of your success
Flickr attribution: /birdy_photo/13329482484/

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Self-Development
Why YourAttitudeAmounts to 100% of Your Success
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
If
… is equal to:
… then:
None of the above makes life 100% successful. Then what makes 100%? Is it Money? No, that’s just 72%.
Leadership? No, that’s getting closer, it’s 97%. It is our ATTITUDE towards Life and Work that makes Our Life
100% successful.
HARD WORK = 8 + 1 + 18 + 4 + 23 + 15 + 18 + 11 = 98
KNOWLEDGE = 11 + 14 + 15 + 23 + 12 + 5 + 4 + 7 + 5 = 96
LUCK = 12 + 21 + 3 + 11 = 47
LOVE = 12 + 15 + 22 + 5 = 54
ATTITUDE = 1 + 20 + 20 + 9 + 20 + 21 + 4 + 5 = 100

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Self-Development
2. ABILITY
You’ll have a tough time achieving your full
potential in life if you try to do something you
have no gift for. It is much easier to take time to
find out your own unique gifts and develop
these. Here’s what Quentin Crisp says: “It’s no
good running a pig farm badly for thirty years
while saying, “Really I was meant to be a ballet
dancer.” By that time, pigs will have become your
style.”
Find out what you were made to do on this earth
Flickr attribution: /hernanpc/8169133777/

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Self-Development
Lost, or Just Wandering?
Personal growth rarely follows a set pattern and a set rate. Consider the following "successful" people who
discovered their true vocation only after going down unrelated paths.
1. Ray Kroc
founder of
McDonalds,
who, until the
age of 52,
sold paper
cups and
milkshake
makers.
7. Sheldon
Adelson
founder of Las
Vegas Sands,
who sold
shampoo into
his 30's.
2. Ang Lee
film director,
who was a
jobless house-
husband until
the age of 31.
6. Suze
Orman
American
celebrity, who
was a waitress
until the age
of 30..
5. Harrison
Ford
actor and
producer, who
was a
carpenter into
his 30's.
3. Mary Kay
Ash
founder of
Mary Kay,
who sold
books door-
to-door until
the age of 45.
4. J K
Rowling
"Harry Potter"
author, who
was on
welfare as a
single mother,
until the age
of 31.
Attribution all pictures: Wikipedia

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Self-Development
3. 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 mountains or conquer foothills. But self-
belief, or faith, is not easy. It means a belief in
something that you can’t prove or be certain of.
It means believing in life’s magic. “Faith is like a
bird that feels dawn breaking while it is still
dark.” (Scandinavian proverb)
Your self-belief will give you courage in dark times
Flickr attribution: /salford_ian/3548916169/

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Self-Development
The Nine Seeds of Personal Growth
The following are the nine seeds of personal growth, based on Erik Erikson’s Lifespan Theory.
.
1. Industry: the
recognition that to grow
requires the hard work.
2. Intimacy: the
acceptance of the need to
care and be cared for
3. Trust: the belief that the
world is essentially a good
place to live and work in.
4. Creativity: the belief
that any problem can be
solved.
5. Integrity: the adherence
to a cohesive and
consistent set of values.
6. Identity: the feeling of
security that comes from
knowing and accepting
yourself.
7. Generativity: the belief
that the more you give,
the more you'll get back.
8. Power: the power to
make a difference to the
way you live.
9. Autonomy: the ability
to set your own goals.
Flickr attribution: /16210667@N02/16607544549/

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Self-Development
4. 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
yourself. Novelist Charles Dickens put it this way:
“Industry is the soul of business and the
keystone of prosperity.”
Even with the greatest potential, you still have to work at
it
Flickr attribution: /arifbd111/3421300275/

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Self-Development
All personal growth follows a similar curve which has its own
momentum and takes its own time. We can identify seven
stages on the route to achieving a goal.
Why Success Is
Rarely a Straight Line
4. The Arid Plateau
The arid plateau at the bottom of the
trough is when we feel like giving up.
But this is a time for investing.
3. Failure
Failures outstrip
successes and we begin
to wonder if we did the
right thing.
7. Certainty
We move steadily to the
goals we set and can think
about setting new ones.
6. Breakthrough
Breakthrough occurs when
we find the formula that
works for us.
2. Disappointment
2. Disappointment sets in
soon after the initial blip
when we realise things
aren't going to be as easy
as we thought.
1. Initial Blip
The initial blip on the
growth curve is the
initial excitement of
new goals. Our
motivation is high.
5. Persistence
Dogged persistence
accompanied by learning
sends the curve upwards.

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Self-Development
5. COURAGE
It is easy to start the process of self-
development, much harder to keep it going,
particularly 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”.”
Courage helps you go on
Flickr attribution: /chtifiun/8032398546/

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Self-Development
Norman's Mountain
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
dream of actually climbing his mountain. The
chance came when at the age of 88, 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 dream. The next year he
tried 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 the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
(Sir Edmund Hilary)

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Self-Development
6. LUCK
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 our mental self-belief and our
physical action. In fact, we always get what we
expect to get, no more, no less. Anatole France
described it this way: “Chance is the pseudonym
God uses when he doesn’t want to sign his
name.”
Luck is something you create for yourself
Flickr attribution: /swimparallel/3224585714/

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Self-Development
Goal-Getting Is Like
Rocket Propulsion
When we set ourselves up to achieve personal growth, we become
like guided missiles: we set our course for a target and automatically
head for it. It is the science of rocketry - teleology - applied to the
human brain.
1. Set a Clear
Goal
First, set a clear
goal that is your
ultimate aim; eg
to become fit.
Totally commit
to this goal.
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2.Targets
Second, set some
evidence targets
which will prove
that you've reached
your goals; eg
running a
marathon in under
five hours; topping
the scales at under
11 stone. See
yourself in your
mind's eye
achieving these
targets.
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4. Feedback
Fourth, keep a
lookout for
what happens
as a result of
your actions.
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3. Action
Third, take the
action and seize
the
opportunities
which you think
will get you
there.The more
you focus on the
goals, the more
opportunities
will arise.
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5. Adjust and
Continue
Fifth, like an
oarsman in a
rowing boat,
adjust your
course as you
go to stay on
track.
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Self-Development
7.
PERSEVERANCE
All self-developers know the feeling of working
hard to what they imagine is the finishing line
only to find that the line has moved 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 characteristic we must
possess if we are to face the future as finishers.”
(Henry David Thoreau).
Miracles are the result of perseverance
Flickr attribution: /kongharald/229645911/

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Self-Development
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
AFinal
Word
In the final analysis, it doesn’t much matter whether you become a champion on the world stage
or a champion in your own little neck of the woods. The feeling you will have will be exactly the
same: one of satisfaction, achievement, and triumph.

Self-Development

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