Thursday, September 6, 2012

IS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT NECESSARY?


    During the past 12 years of motivating and inspiring others I came across many who let it be known up front, without any qualms, that they didn’t buy into ‘psycho mumbo jumbo’…I opted to say mumbo jumbo instead of actual words spoken for the cleanliness of this article.  I will admit, at the green beginnings of my career as a Life Coach, I was clueless of how to respond when the good news I wanted to share was rejected by those who expressed desire for life changes.  I learned, quickly, through trial and error that a person will receive the good news when they feel they are ready to.  A person can hate the way their life feels, while at the same time not be ready to learn information that will transform their discomforts into experiences of joy. 
Why does this happen? 

This interesting reality happens for many individual reasons.  Psychologists, Sociologists, Philosophers, Economists, Theologians, friends, enemies, you name it have a theory to explain why some people insist on remaining in situations that makes them constantly complain about their lives and the displeasure they feel. 
Let me ask YOU.  How would you explain this? (click highlighted and underlined words in this sentence to answer question)

I have had people ask if personal development is necessary.  Their lives were overbooked with responsibility.  Completing steps towards a better self in the future does not advertise large immediate payouts or much needed money to afford financial obligations.  To those people, the idea of strengthening human attributes sound nice but doesn’t make the top 10 of their priority list.  Oftentimes, I have silently shaken my head at the emptiness I felt because of lack of knowledge about how to reach them to help.

     Do I believe personal development is important?  Yes, I do.  I always have and I suspect I always will.  Is this the reason I was double promoted from Head Start to 1st grade, graduated high school at 17 as Who’sWho Among American High School Students, and graduated from college with a double major as a single mother with two young children?  No, it was not the reason.  I’ll explain.

     I was what some would call intelligent as a child.  I remember a day when my parents used this against me.  They encouraged me to throw my bottle away because I was a big girl and big girls didn’t use bottles.  Big girls ate pizzapuffs, my favorite, and rode tricycles, they absolutely didn’t carry bottles.  Well if they did, they were actually a baby, not a BIG GIRL.  Oh how I wished I didn’t listen to them at the end of the night.  When I asked for my bottle, as I normally did, I was reminded of when I tossed my juice filled bottle into the dumpster near our duplex.

     Shortly after that incident, this BIG GIRL wanted to know how to read books and how to write in cursive penmanship.  My mom and dad both wrote in cursive and it looked like some secret code that they understood and it was time for them to teach me.  Momma had her own agendas that sometimes excluded extensive training in the areas I wanted developed.  I would take odd papers of theirs and trace the letters with my pencil in effort to learn to cursive write on my own. 

(My love for pencils and writing led to a tragic experience that I will refrain from sharing in this article.) 

But, shortly after accomplishing my goals of being able to read the books in my dark orange Dr. Seuss bookcase on my dresser and being able to write the alphabet and my first and last name in cursive letters I was double promoted.  1st grade was scary.  I was the youngest in my class but still even yet more advanced.  This proposed quite a few problems later on. 

Years later, I became a child who witnessed domestic violence for two years and familial dysfunction for longer.  Then, school was my escape from the nightmare I lived.  The majority of my days and nights were spent dreaming about the life I wished I was living and the one I intended to create when I was old enough. 

Once graduating high school, I didn’t really know what to do.  Momma wanted me to stay home with her until I was 18, legal age in Arkansas.  I declined her proposal and headed off to college in a city four hours away.  

     My college experience was noteworthy and I acknowledge the ups and downs that resulted in me graduating seven years later as a single mother in my upcoming book.  I will post details later.  It wasn’t until I entered the flow of society, educated and unable to secure suitable employment, when I realized the importance of personal development.  I had pushed past every blockade and beat all odds in pursuit of childhood goals.  Now, I stood in the midst of crunch-time without guidance or direction. 

Previous accomplishments did nothing for my car note and past due rent, nor did it stop my obligation to pay back $66,000 for student loans.  I got to the point of almost giving up before realizing there were some things about me that needed to change if I truly wanted to live a different experience.

     I first learned about love in its various forms through reading the King James Version of the bible, articles, self-help books, fiction stories, and by listening to the discussions of others.  Eventually, I embraced meditation and experienced its essence.  I discovered love is the reason for all things of itself and the lack of it explains everything else.  Learning about love strengthened the foundation of my faith. 

     Faith is the driving force of any endeavor.  When we stand from our beds we do so in faith of gravity.  Turing the knob of a faucet displays faith that a flow of water will result.  When two people marry the idea is they have faith in the longevity of their union.  And when they divorce, two people reveal their faith in legal freedom from the other.  There are some couples who have married, divorced, and then later developed valuable friendship between them.  These people show faith in each other’s presence.  

     Doubt and fear were the next subjects I explored.  Doubt is belief in what is undesired.  Fear is anxiety about impeding danger.  The obvious thing about doubt is it is impossible to achieve or possess anything you believe can’t be had.  It’s that simple.  Faith is belief that you can.  Even though this is obvious, it is a phenomenon that goes undetected by many human minds. 

The unique thing I learned about fear is the feared experience always exists in the future.  Even if the object feared is present (visible), during the process of fear battle has not yet taken place.  There are other more effective actions that can be taken in lieu of fear.  Anxiety is a response to something that feels uncontrollable.  Every choice a human makes is in the control of that human.  Realizing the fact that I am in control of my own life empowered me beyond fear and anxiety.  I was introduced to the tool of present living.

Living life moment by moment is far more rewarding than living check to check or from one sad experience to the next.  I started recognizing love in the interactions I engaged in; even unpleasant ones.  Past memories are now learning modules that contain a wealth of feedback and encouragement. 

I am reminded of how life once felt which makes me thankful for today.  Each experience I have had reveals a step by step manifestation of my innermost focuses.  Now I know how to set my focus according to my desires which in turn produces the outcome of my heart.  This is nothing new.  Only, now I am aware of how this all works.

The good news is LIFE CAN BE ALL YOU DESIRE IT TO BE.  If you believe this and would like to be asked a series of questions designed to unveil the mystery focus of your life click HERE.  Input your name and a quick message about what we can work on in your life.  You deserve the very best life has to offer.  The choice is YOURS to make.  Start NOW on a journey of personal development.  As a friend I support your quest and wish you success in developing a healthy whole self.  Take care of your mind, body, and spirit.

Sincerely,

DeMeitta Wesley 
                        

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