Why Should We Develop Ourselves?
The audacity that people who choose to develop themselves have, is that they go out of their way to improve themselves. Then they reap the benefits of being a better person. It is not just that you are getting better, you are becoming the best VERSION of YOU. The best that you possibly be.
For me I have always had the Self-Development mentality, so it was it hard for me when someone asked “why should we do it?”, and I thought about it. The peculiar thing is that a lot of people wouldn’t understand that it is a common action, but not commonly practice. There is a big difference from just learning over the course of your life, and pursuing it everyday to better yourself. The sheer curve of change in your life is almost indescribable.
Choosing the to pursue Self-Development is not something to just say yes or no to, it is a part of your life inherently as we learn in order to live. We learn if we should say this or that, we learn that doing this is not as good as doing that, or simply not to do/say/be/exclaim at all. This fundamental process of our lives makes it to where Self-Development should be in the forefront of our education on every level. From childhood to university, to our deathbed.
The Path Ahead of You
Is it hard to start? Well yes, but also no. As said previously you have been doing it since before you were born, there are many studies that point that hearing your parents while in the womb can impact your mindset, personality, and outlook. Not to mention when you are actually born, you start learning instantly. How to eat, how to walk, how to speak, all of that is Self-Development. There are sayings that you stop being able to learn after you grow past a certain point, or once you leave school. Yeah, that is because people stop trying. The people who DON’T stop, are the ones that become Warren Buffets, Oprahs, and Bill Gates of the world.
The secret to their success, foremost is that they do not stop learning. Many entrepreneurs read a book every day. They make time out of their day to do it, despite missing out on business opportunities. They know that the knowledge they get will be more valuable than a single opportunity.
Your path is one of those successful people, but you can diverge from it if you choose to stay the same way you are.
The Four Pillars Philosophy in Your Life
The Four Pillars focuses on the four major aspects of life: Mind, Body, Spirit, and Emotions.
This is simple Philosophy created by me to make it easier for people to get started. Granted it has many great similarities to many belief systems already out there. That is not a flaw, it is major benefit, as this allows translating either the belief you already know, or more importantly translating new ideas into a concept you know. Meaning when you learn about the FPP it allows you to use it as a baseline for learning.
Comparing new information to what you already know. It is a basis of teaching. If lets say I want to teach a reader about movies or video games, then I would have to compare how the plots are enacted differently between medias. How the character developments can be much more dynamic in games due to the way the structure of the creation can be. Compare it to a choose your own adventure book for example.
Using this idea we can easily learn new skills, habits, and knowledge. It is all about how you frame it for understanding.
Body Pillar
From working out, nutrition, to health the Body Pillar deals with all of the Physical endeavors and challenges.
The most commonly practiced development, and you can learn a lot from imitation.
Practice calisthenics if you want to get started. After that Freeweights can be a great tool for physical strength.
Mind Pillar
The Mind can be a vast development structure, as there are many different things to work on in order to improve it. Intelligence(s), knowledge, continuous learning, and cognition.
Brain games are always said to both help and distract the mind, really it comes down to personal experience. If playing Tetris or Zelda challenges you, then it is worth it. You want that challenge in your life, and it can help distract you from stress.
Stress impacts all Pillars, but the Mind is often most noticeable.
Try reading 10 minutes a day, meditating in any style, and/or Brain games to get started. Highly recommend meditation as it is essentially like lifting weights for your brain.
Spirit Pillar
The spirit/soul/Atman of a person. You could even say this is your personality, imbued in a form that is currently unknown to science. It is the resonance that can’t currently be explained. It does not matter if you are devoted to a religion or not. Even Atheists have been known to say that there is some sort of essence to a person.
This isn’t a belief system, but more of an observation. The deep connection you have with people is the Spirit Pillars of each person connecting.
Really meditation is the sole training method for this Pillar, in another way of putting it “Introspection”. Finding out who you are, what makes you, YOU.
Emotions Pillar
The ever changing influx of fluidity that we call emotions causes you to act in certain ways. Most people choose to simply experience their emotions, not realizing that sometimes they need to be understood. If you choose to look at why you are feeling a certain way, perhaps then you can make a difference in your overall mindset.
Your other Pillars can be greatly impacted by your Emotions, despite the fact they can change rapidly. That is a dangerous situation, and the person you project to other people can change depending on that situation.
Stress has a strong impact on the Emotions Pillar as well, and since the interactivity of the Pillar is strong, it quickly spreads to different aspects of life. Keep an eye out for stressful triggers in life, and minimize them as much as possible.
Creating a new person from the ashes of the old.
Challenge yourself to be a better version of yourself. It is not a matter of just making yourself smarter, stronger, it is a matter of perfecting the various little aspects of you together.
Go out and Develop!