There are many ideas
surrounding personal development, one of which is detailed below -
Abraham Maslow's process of Self Actualisation.
Self Actualisation
Maslow (1970) suggests that
all individuals have an in-built need for personal development which
occurs through the process called self-actualisation.
The extent to which people are able to develop
depends on certain needs being met and these needs form a hierarchy.
Only when one level of need is satisfied can a higher one be
developed. As change occurs throughout life, however, the level of
need motivating someone’s behaviour at any one time will also change.
-
At the bottom of the hierarchy are the basic physiological needs for food, drink, sex and sleep, i.e., the basics for survival.
- Second are the needs for safety and security in both the physical and economic sense.
- Thirdly, progression can be made to satisfying the need for love and belonging.
- The fourth level refers to meeting the need for self-esteem and self-worth. This is the level most closely related to ‘self-empowerment’.
- The fifth level relates to the need to
understand.This level includes more abstract ideas such as curiosity
and the search for meaning or purpose and a deeper understanding.
- The sixth relates to aesthetic needs of
beauty, symmetry and order. At the top of Maslow’s hierarchy, is the
need for self-actualisation.
Maslow (1970, p.383) says that all individuals
have the need to see themselves as competent and autonomous, also that
every person has limitless room for growth.
Self-actualisation refers to the desire that everybody has ‘
to become everything that they are capable of becoming’. In other words, it refers to self-fulfilment and the need to reach full potential as a unique human being.
For Maslow, the path to self-actualisation
involves being in touch with your feelings, experiencing life fully
and with total concentration.
Maslow, A. H. (1970), Motivation and Personality, (2nd Edition), Harper & Row, New York.
Practical Steps to Personal Development
Practical steps can be taken to enhance personal development, including:
- Organising your time.
- Producing a personal CV or résumé.
- Undertaking a skills appraisal.
- Looking at your transferable skills.
- Overcoming barriers to learning a new skill.
Organising Your Time
If you are considering making changes in your
life, finding additional time often poses a problem. It could be that
the changes you are thinking of making are to ensure you have extra
time to:
- Spend with your family.
- Spend on things you enjoy doing.
- Devote to your work.
- Devote to your education.
Whatever the reason, looking at how you spend
your time will encourage you to think of ways your time could be
managed more effectively.
Our pages:
Time Management and
Minimising Distractions give further information about how you may manage your time more effectively, these include:
- Learning to say 'no' to jobs or requests that you feel are not your responsibility.
- Learning to delegate – sharing jobs can be fun and will leave you with more time. See our page, Delegation Skills.
- Making a ’to do’ list of tasks you need to do each day/week, ticking off tasks that you complete.
- Giving up things you do not really want or need to do.
- Identifying your high and low times of the
day. Everyone has a time when he/she feels more or less energetic.
Try to do the most demanding tasks when you have the greatest energy as
you will do them more quickly, thereby releasing more time to spend on
other things.
For many people their personal development will
involve setting goals; these might be to change behaviour - as in
looking at their time management - learning new skills or advancing
their career.
Many employers are looking for the same sorts of
skills. These include good communication skills, the ability to work as
part of a team and the ability to learn – these are often termed ‘
Soft Skills’
and are the sorts of skills that SkillsYouNeed writes about. Beyond
that the skills required will depend on the particular job.
Personal Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Résumé
Drawing up a CV or résumé is not
only necessary when applying for jobs, it can also be very useful for
your own benefit and will help you appraise the skills you have gained
through education, training, employment, voluntary work, leisure and
other activities. In turn it will help to highlight skills that you
should work on developing.
There are numerous different ways of setting
out and presenting a CV or résumé for the purpose of applying for a job
– you should be very careful to include all relevant information and
make sure your document is well written and well presented.
However, for the purpose of a personal CV or
résumé, for your own reference and as a way to access your skills a
simple format is all that is needed.
Transferable Skills
See our page:
Transferable Skills for more information
Many skills that you have
learnt and developed either through work, education or your personal
life can be successfully applied to other areas of your life. For
example, good listening skills are important in many aspects of life.
Such skills are known as ‘Transferable Skills’ a term which is usually associated with a skill set that can be easily transferred from one job to another.
Analysing your existing skills will help you
to identify both skills and personal qualities that could be used in
another field. Further examples of transferable skills are IT skills,
interpersonal skills, communication (verbal and written),
organisational skills, literacy and numeracy, problem-solving and
understanding the needs of others or emotional intelligence.
Overcoming Barriers to Learning a New Skill
Learning a new skill will
broaden the opportunities open to you, at the same time as empowering
you as an individual. There are many things that prevent people
from learning new skills, these barriers may be overcome with some
thought. These might include:
- Lack of Confidence or Self-Esteem: This is one
of the greatest obstacles facing many individuals. However, if this
is a problem then ask yourself if there is anyone who would support and
help you to take the first steps towards learning a new skill. Often,
once the first move is made then the greatest hurdle is overcome.
Confidence increases as you develop new skills. See our pages: Building Confidence and Improving Self-Esteem for more.
- Economic Situation: You may see your financial
situation as a barrier to developing new skills, this need not be the
case. The internet has lots of pages and tools that can help you
develop specify skills. There may be courses offered in local schools,
colleges or universities which are free or offered at a reduced rate
for people on a lower incomes. Distance-learning courses allow you to
study at home which can help to reduce the cost of learning. There
may exist trust funds or charities that offer grants for people
developing new skills in your area. It is also possible to learn a new
skill with the aid of books from a library. Also, voluntary work can
provide an excellent opportunity for learning and developing new skills
as can being a member of a local group or society.
- Family Commitments: If you have family
commitments that prevent you from having the time to learn a new skill,
perhaps it is possible for you to enlist the help of a friend or
family member to give you a few free hours weekly. Colleges and
universities offering vocational training courses may have free or
subsidised crèche places.
- Lack of Time: See our pages: Time Management and Minimising Distractions and consider how you could reorganise your time to fit in the development of a new skill.
Recording your Personal Development
It is often a good idea to
keep a record of your personal development. By writing down key
developments in your learning and development as and when they occur,
you will be able to reflect on your successes at a later date.
This reflection may well
help to motivate you to learn more skills in the future. Try keeping a
learning log or journal as you develop your skills and knowledge. See
our page
Reflective Practice for some ideas of how to do this..
