PERSONAL GROWTH AND YOUR TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY

SO WHAT SHOULD BE THE FOCUS- PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OR PERSONAL GROWTH?

You may now wonder, 'What is the real difference between personality development and personal growth? Don’t they essentially mean the same thing?' Honestly, the word ‘personality development’ is contentious in today’s time.

Research conducted over the years, highlights personal growth is a more appropriate term to illustrate this concept. Development is constricted, while growth has no boundaries. Moreover, merely imbibing surface traits like confidence, body language, etc. is of no value, if your core is not aligned.

In present times, most people focus on impressing others. We are constantly trying to fit in and harness the desire to be accepted and liked by the people around us. In doing so, all we do is chisel our surface personality. During this makeover journey, we abandon our true self. All our efforts stem from insecurity and the fear of rejection, which can never lead us to constructive personal growth.

If you truly seek to grow personally, awareness is everything! Let me introduce you to the 5 inner forms of intelligence that will completely change your perspective towards personal growth.

5 INNER FORMS OF INTELLIGENCE THAT GOVERN YOUR TRUE PERSONALITY

There are 5 inner forms of intelligence that influence the way our core functions. These are the foundation of personal growth and working towards their enhancement leads to positive changes in our conduct, mindset, character, confidence, communication and intellect on the whole.  The 5 intelligences that decide your success are:

1.Personal Intelligence

Personal intelligence is totally about becoming aware of yourself, your strengths, weaknesses, and areas of work. It can be said that the first step to personal intelligence is self-awareness. Personal intelligence is about how you think and how those thoughts reflect in what you do.

How to develop personal intelligence:

The best way to develop personal intelligence is to maintain a journal. After writing the journal, analyse your articulation. Soon you will see a pattern defining your personality. 

Do you always find yourself in the complaining mode, be it the delay in your promotion or a habit like being unorganised? Are you always penning aspects that stand unaccomplished? Are you overtly focusing on the past? Or are you looking on the brighter side alone?

Identify and accept the pattern. Analyse the fallouts in your pattern. Acceptance of one’s fallouts is the first step towards change. This is where most people weaken their act. Avoid deflections that push you to justify your incorrect stance. Where there is deflection, there cannot be introspection.

2. Intellectual Intelligence

Let me guess what came to your mind - IQ and memory!

Unfortunately, Intellectual intelligence is inaccurately equated with only IQ and memorization skills. These are aspects that we develop in schools, but this does not represent our intellect. Intellectual intelligence is the hidden reservoir of treasure that people have not yet discovered and is made up of aspects like observation, planning, organizational skills, mindfulness, critical thinking, creative thinking, and much more.

How to develop intellectual intelligence:

Start observing things. Be present in the moment and ask questions. Be curious about why things are the way that they are and what you can do to make them better. This would simultaneously enhance your problem-solving and divergent thinking abilities. By observing, you will be able to awaken your creativity and innovation.

3. Communication Intelligence

Communication is often rated in terms of how well you speak about a topic and how polished your vocabulary is. But the fact is that if you are not able to establish a connection with your listener, you are far from being an effective communicator. Communication intelligence is about mindset, perception, psychology, and not just about your language skills.

How to develop communication intelligence:

Don't focus on what you want to speak; instead focus primarily on what people want to hear. Why should they listen to you? You can only become a good speaker when you focus on what you are speaking. Listen to yourself carefully. Pen down your interpretation and evaluate yourself. What do your listening skills say about who you are as a person? The day you start understanding people and their emotions, your expression and communication quotient will escalate multifold.  

4. Emotional Intelligence

This is one key aspect that needs to be diligently worked upon so that those in your surroundings stay in harmony. Emotional intelligence helps develop your personality by deciphering the source of your emotions and their triggers. This facilitates management of emotions and brings a shift in perspective. Emotional intelligence also plays a significant role in conflict management, such that the relationship stays unharmed.

How to develop emotional intelligence:

Choose one person from your workplace with whom you don’t share a very good relationship. This could be your colleague, your superior, or even a junior. Commence by showing empathy and genuinely respect their thoughts and ideas. Do so without expecting anything in return and you will see that with time, your relationship will improve and the bond will strengthen.

5. Spiritual Intelligence

Spiritual intelligence empowers you to identify and change the limiting beliefs that have been stunting your growth all your life. This helps you to create the super-power that elevates you to the next level in life. Once your limiting beliefs have been identified, all your 'I cannot' transform into 'I can'. A spiritually intelligent person is capable of transforming situations to their benefit just by tapping into their strong mind power. It is an extension of all the above intelligences. When you align your mind and your heart with all of these four intelligences, is when you reach this step.

How to develop spiritual intelligence:

Every day, spend about 10 minutes with yourself - close your eyes and do nothing but breathe and be in the moment. Be mindful of the moment and pat your back. Be grateful and happy for all that you have in your life. When you do that, your productivity will be multiplied.

CONCLUSION

Personal growth is much more than surface traits. Cultivating the right kind of attributes requires a change in perspective. The drive has to come from within. Remember, self-belief is not a quality that can be taught; it is something that you discover when you work on your inner personality. Growth and change in personality is possible. Improving these 5 inner intelligences is possible - all you need is a hands-on mentor who is committed to your growth and a spirit to keep going till you get to your destination. No matter what stage of life that you are at, the right environment and perseverance lead to growth, changes, and improvements.