- Self-awareness
- Improving health
- Enhancing quality of life
- Improving wealth
- Spiritual development
- Building self-esteem
- Improving potential
- Developing strengths
- Improving social abilities
- Building employability
How personal development works?
For better understanding let me start it with a story. I don’t know if you have heard this story before but I am sure it will stick to you. So, this story is about the Chinese bamboo tree.
Like any other plant or tree, the Chinese bamboo tree also requires water, fertile soil, and sunlight. But something is amazing about Chinese bamboo and the way it grows.
And what’s that?
Once you plant it and nurture it, it will not show any sign in the first year. In the second year, no sign of growth above the soil can be seen. And the same for a third and fourth year too. All these years your patience is tested. You may start thinking that your efforts (nurturing, watering, etc.) will ever be rewarded?
And then what happens in the fifth year is not less than a miracle. The Chinese bamboo tree grows 80 feet in just six weeks. Isn’t it amazing?
Wow! When I heard this story for the first time I was stunned! What a growth it is!
But how this tree grew exponentially in just six weeks while it didn’t show any sign in the last four years?
Actually, the tree was growing not on the surface but underground. First four years it was developing a strong root system so that it can behold the outward growth in the fifth year and beyond.
The reason why I shared this story here is that personal growth is just the same as the way Chinese bamboo grows. If the tree had not developed the strong foundation inward it couldn’t have sustained its growth outward. The same principle applies to your personal development. If you work patiently towards your goal and dreams, builds a strong foundation while overcoming any challenges – you can achieve anything you want. But remember to achieve any goals and success you need to have a solid foundation of your personal development like your values, your attitude, your character, etc.
That’s why Chinese bamboo is a perfect parable to your own personal growth experience. Hence, personal development is not easy and it’s slow to show the results but it is worth waiting for. The reward for your patience and persistence is life-changing. From my own experience, personal development does not always show results immediately but during that period you grow into the person you want to be. And when you actually witness the progress you forget all that past doubts and struggle and just enjoy the fruit of your labor.
That’s the beauty of personal development – slow, steady, and life-changing growth.
