Up to this point, the convention of perception has been to project an image of ourselves onto others, so that they can define us and create a characterization about us that will enable them to relate to us or interact with us. If the characterization is positive, the quality of the interaction will reflect that. If the characterization is negative, the lack of interaction will speak volumes! The closer our persona matches theirs, the better our relationship. Personal or professional.
Creating Personal Growth deviates from the principle of outward projection and focuses instead on inward perspective. We are going to introduce ourselves to ourselves. There are three basic stages to this process:
1. Self-evaluation.
If we could have an out-of-body experience and see the persona we project onto others, as if we were a third party, what would that perception look like? Remember that this is a snapshot of how we project ourselves. Chances are that this is not the picture of who we want to be or how we would like to be perceived. This is a cold, hard and unfiltered look at the person we see in the mirror through the unbiased eyes of a third party.
Here are some of the questions we might find on our self-evaluation “score sheet”:
a. How do we see ourselves?
b. If we could be objective about who we are, what would we like about ourselves?
c. What would we dislike?
d. What would we change?
e. What could we change?
This introspective evaluation is essential in establishing the “here and now” of our self-perception. If we are perfectly candid with ourselves, we will have recognized and identified a number of areas in which we have achieved some level of personal success and a measure of personal satisfaction. We will also expect to find a host of issues that are preventing the achievement of our goals and objectives.
Now we have two options. One is to create a list of “keep characteristics” and “discard characteristics” and add a third list of “replace characteristics”. Or to put it in another way, we keep what we like about ourselves, get rid of the things we don’t like about us and replace that last category with items we want to include in our Persona Profile. It is an archaic and convoluted way to creating change that contributes little to our personal growth. We’re not really growing; we’re just amending the formula and composition of our present self. Instead, we need to create a new self-perception!
2. Source-evaluation. The second stage in furthering our Personal Growth is examining the influences behind each of our perceived characteristics. What were the key influences of our Past, both positive and negative and what influences will inspire us in the Future? WE must replace the old perceptions we created in the past and clear the canvas for a new perception that will internalize the goals and objectives we are committed to achieve in the Future.
3. Success-evaluation. The final stage in developing Personal Growth is in determining your outcome. Who do you intend to become? What persona will you grow into? This is the precursor to the development of your new perception. The one that reflects your personal values, your inherent personality traits and your unique gifts. The symbiotic interaction between your God-given talents and your born Leadership abilities. Your success-evaluation will become the cornerstone for renewed Personal Growth!
So what the essential elements of creating Personal Growth? Do we have a direction we want to grow into? Do we have a clear vision of our Future? A Future that we believe is best for us. The goals we want to achieve personally? Do we have a profile template of the person who would be successful in achieving our personal goals? Is that person a genuine reflection of our personality? Can we be that person? How can we become that person?
And the most important determination in the development of our persona is if we truly want to become that person! Is that the persona we elect to lead us as we continue to grow? Will our new persona recognize our weaknesses and turn them into strengths, or will it hide behind them? Will it strike a balance in our life or will it perpetuate a deep-rooted internal conflict? Is this truly our gateway to Personal Growth and success?
A thorough understanding of ourselves will help us to find, follow or expand our path to the Future. An awareness and acceptance of any potential conflict between our inherent personality traits and our overall objectives will help us expand our Personal Growth.
Carl Jung (1875 – 1961), the German philosopher and psychologist was the founder of “Analytical Psychology”. He identified a process of personal growth that he called individuation, which is essentially the process through which a person becomes his/her “true” self. While the process of individualization is flawed in the sense that our “true self” is not defined by us, but rather by others who define us based on their perception of us, it is an essential component in the development of our Personal Growth, where the objective is for us to introduce ourselves to ourselves, rather than being defined by others.
© 2014 Allan N. Mulholland, CPC
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