Personal development as a success factor
Self-improvement, personal development, productivity — today these qualities in the business environment are of the same importance as an MBA degree, the ability to write a business plan or set up a sales strategy. The aptitude to improving useful skills and developing the mind — soft skills — are especially appreciated by an employer who looks into the future. A skilled leader wants the team to consist of employees who are able not only to complete tasks, but also to generate ideas. In general, creativity is a driving force of the world and business world in particular.
The idea seems new, but actually it’s not. Already in ancient Greece, the famous philosopher Aristippus wrote the Code, in which he collected 24 guidelines on the most important life principles. Each of them individually and all together lead a person to success in society and personal life.
The guideline XII is about creativity: “Be able to create new ideas and effectively fulfill them in your life.” Continuing the theme of self-realization, the ancient thinker devoted the guideline XIII to personal development: “Be capable of achieving personal growth, learning and development.”
Such strategies were considered successful several centuries before our era, so we suggest following the advice of the founder of the Cyrenaic school.
Can creativity be learned?
If business technologies can be studied in the same way as physics or a foreign language, then what about creativity and personal development? Today, technologies are used that allow forming both. We will explain them in detail so that you can use the proven algorithm.
There is a “5-hour rule”, by adhering to which, you will learn something new on a regular basis. The bottom line is to be distracted for just 1 hour a day and do things that are not related to work. Yet the main thing is that you need to do this every weekday, and not from time to time. You will spend only 5 hours a week. The result will be impressive — the development of creative thinking and practical skills. These are the components of self-development.
Being unaware of the existence of the “5-hour rule”, most of the celebrities of the past intuitively came to the understanding of its effectiveness. For example, US President Franklin was distracted from government affairs in order to devote at least an hour to mastering new knowledge and skills. He learned languages, ancient Greek philosophy and rhetoric. Perhaps that is why the United States became a mighty power under the leadership of Franklin.
Naturally, not every activity is useful and helps to develop the mind. Here are some proven and tested options.
Show sympathy
Working and making a career — that’s undoubtedly important. However, in addition to earning all the money in the world, one can try to find out how this world lives, what is needed to make the world a better place and how you can help it.
For example, charity is always in trend, and there are always people willing to help. Volunteering and giving an hour a day of your time, energy and emotions to those in need will develop compassion, empathy and emotional intelligence. These qualities are directly related to creative thinking and creativity. Try it and see for yourself.
Feel free to experiment
Doing something new, including with your hands, is very useful: planting flowers, cooking, decorating the house — the opportunity to choose what you like is huge. You can engage in creative activities, while studying the results of each experimental step in practice. The advantage is that fine motor skills develop, along with which memory, attention, mindset are stimulated and nerves calm down.
Read books
Many do not take this advice seriously, considering it too simple. Moreover, an excessive information background, when news is pouring in from everywhere, does not motivate to receive additional data at all. Therefore, we are not talking about news, but about real books: novels, poems, biographies, memoirs, encyclopedias. Select the genre according to your interests. Reading is useful because it distracts from reality and immerses you in another world. The process of reading itself stimulates brain activity, forms the ability to see an alternative standpoint, which significantly accelerates a person’s self-development.
Today, lists of books that are read by successful people like Bill Gates or Elon Musk are popular on the net. For starters, you can use their recommendations.
Pause
Taking a break is helpful if you experience a creative block, flounder and can’t handle it. Get up from your workplace and go to the nearest cafe, park, bench under a beautiful tree, sit there, relax and stop thinking about business matters. You switch attention, and rebooting will help you look at the problem with a fresh perspective.
It is no coincidence that starting from the 19th century, European coffee houses have turned into places for intellectuals: great poetry and prose were born there. Sitting in cafes, Hemingway wrote the famous novels “The Sun Also Rises” and “A Moveable Feast”, and J.K. Rowling — the “Harry Potter” series.
Admit it, all of the above is quite doable. Indeed, it is! Simple actions, in addition to benefits, will give pleasure. After all, only doing what you like to do has a positive effect. This is important when it comes to the formation of such necessary skills as personal development and creativity. The ancient thinker Aristippus knew exactly what their value was, so his ideas survived the centuries. Follow the ancient Greek philosophy, apply ready-to-use experience and success will not be long in coming.
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