From the moment we are conceived our personal development has begun – and, if we are open-minded and realistic enough, this journey of personal development stays with us through our entire lives. True, we may feel there are mainstreams and tributaries on parts of this journey, yet at times too many of us get caught up in the hurly-burly and minutiae of life and tend to become disconnected from our “personal development” to such an extent that it seems to be almost “on hold”.
The truth is – our personal development isn’t on hold, but continues unabated every day of our lives. We are getting familiar with, honing, polishing and perfecting our capabilities through experience; and proving and reinforcing our thoughts through reference.
And within this familiarity – whatever idiosyncrasies, habits, foibles, character traits we have – these are also developing by the very same process.
Now, some habits – especially childhood ones – we can grow out of, yet some remain. And in remaining, as a pattern somewhere within our psyche, they can either continue and grow or also lie dormant.
The ones we grow, we can get very good at, and these ones can seem very awkward to “shake off”, habitually embedded as they are. Others can reappear at some later time, triggered by a particular event or trauma, or by some other stressful effect upon our lives.
In terms of the big picture, Personal Development can be either Functional or Inner. Functional Development is much more about how we do what we do, whereas Inner Development is about who we are and how we are being. Inner Development goes beyond our beliefs and values, towards our identity and the level of our spiritual connectivity.
Functional Personal Development is all about two elements. One is correcting the non-useful habits and patterns, and the other part of Functional Personal Development comes under the umbrella of active learning and conditioning.
These elements are very much about our environment, our behaviour, our skills and to a certain degree our beliefs and values at a cognitive level. They are rather akin to going to the gym to get fit – and for Functional Personal Development I would work much more in a learning, conditioning and performance coaching capacity, rather than in a spiritual or a transformative capacity.
In terms of Inner Personal Development, I’ve helped many clients make transformative changes in their personal, sporting, social, creative, business and working lives by guiding them to find their own innate and intuitive inner resources to initiate and maintain generative development. My role as a spiritual or transformative coach or mentor is to help them manage, maintain and embed those changes into their everyday lives over time so they become comfortable and familiar with their new and more beneficial perspectives and perceptions. This is a place where many people feel they almost have a new identity, a new connection with that part of themselves they perhaps remember from way back.
You may have reached a point in your life where you are not perhaps sure about what steps to take next, or in which direction to go. Alternatively you may feel ‘stuck’, or perhaps would welcome exploring some areas that may be of use to you in going forward. Often it can be a very short journey to re-orient ourselves with what we feel is our true purpose – to what resonates with us – transforming us from running on empty to walking on air.
If you feel that working with me as your coach – in whatever capacity – would be of benefit to you in your life right now, then get in touch and we can set the ball rolling. Conversations, however short, are vehicles of great potential – and with every client I see, everything starts with a conversation.