Benefits Of Personal Development For Life Satisfaction
Naveedx January 19, 2022Everyone’s life is full of challenges. However, how an individual responds (not reacts) to those situations and challenges matters a lot.
In any setting like work, school, or home, there are situations that require adaptability and problem-solving skills. In simple words, personal development is about improving oneself on different aspects, such as
- Social skills
- Communication skills
- Personal confidence
- Ability to set goals
- Emotional Intelligence
- Time Management
- Resilience
- Organization
- Leadership
- Problem-solving
- Empathy
Life satisfaction is the personal perception regarding one’s quality of life collectively.
Life satisfaction is different from happiness; happiness is an experience that is instant and temporary whereas when one talks about life satisfaction, it has a long-term focus and a broader scope. Additionally, a number of factors can contribute to a person’s life satisfaction, for instance, work, wellbeing, relationships, personal growth, and mindset. So, one should work to improve mindset along with other factors.
Life satisfaction is also different from the quality of life for the reason that it is linked with a person’s lifestyle e.g. standard of food, health, and home.
Let’s focus on two major kinds of theories regarding life satisfaction,
- Bottom-up theories look at life satisfaction based on different aspects.
- Top-down theories see general life satisfaction as an influential force for specific areas of fulfillment.
As emotional intelligence is crucial for long-term personal development, an individual can read books on emotion psychology.
What are the Benefits of Personal Development
Increased Health and Wellness
An individual with a low level of self-awareness has low motivation for personal growth so it suggests decreased stress management and higher susceptibility to disease. On the other hand, high self-awareness suggests high motivation for personal development that encourages better self-management. Keeping in mind all of this, when stress is not managed properly, the risk for infections and diseases increases whereas proper stress management means low stress and higher immunity against infections and diseases. Hence, people with enhanced personal development enjoy increased health and wellness.
Enhanced Productivity
Procrastination and perfectionism are real issues that everybody struggles with. A person on the journey of personal development will not avoid these issues and face them head-on. It is because they have a strategy kit that helps them recognize these pitfalls and then deal with them. Let’s explore more. One reason behind procrastination is that it arises due to unpleasant emotions e.g. anger, anxiety, and fear. So, the individual falls into the trap of perfectionism. There are serious downfalls of it, such as
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Self-harm
- Binge eating
- PTSD
- OCD
Focus on personal development enables the individual to regulate their thoughts and behavior so that they can achieve their target. To enhance one’s productivity, an individual should also work on their anger by taking an anger management course where they can practice the anger management exercise. Hence, one will also learn to successfully organize their mind for effective emotional control.
Higher Self-Control
Self-control is about the ability to adjust one’s emotions, thoughts, and actions to attain one’s goals. Put another way, self-discipline/ control is like a muscle; the more one exercises it, the stronger it gets.
For example, working on short-term and long-term goals is difficult because of impulses, bad habits, and distractions; those with a goal of personal development are aware of such traps and they deal with them.
Improved Parenting Skills
Parents are role models for their children i.e. their actions influence the kids. When parents spend time on personal development, children also find it important. To illustrate, parents learned to communicate better with their children using empathy and active listening; it made their relationship stronger than ever.
Higher Resilience
Resilience concerns an individual’s ability to tackle diverse situations and get back up tougher after dealing with adversity. Different factors play an important role in boosting one’s resilience, such as hope, healthy thinking, meaningful life, strong social support, and coping strategies. Some examples of resilient people include Amy Morin, Carol Dweck, and Angela Duckworth.
People focused on personal development pay special attention to their resilience as it helps in achieving their goals.
“There will always be obstacles and challenges that stand in your way. Building mental strength will help you develop resilience to those potential hazards so you can continue on your journey to success.”– Amy Morin
Wrap Up
In sum, it is clear that life satisfaction is different from happiness and quality of life and how it goes side by side with personal development. It is imperative to keep in mind that personal development is a path of lifelong learning and practice as it significantly contributes to life satisfaction. Other strategies to improve oneself include enrolling in a self-development course and also engaging in mindfulness meditation exercises.
