WHAT IS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT?

Human nature is very complex. There is no one singular school of thought in any form of scientific
study, including psychology, which can completely and satisfactorily define human nature. Although similar to
many other living organisms that go through the process or birth, growth, development, regeneration, and
death, human beings are different as we possess more complex capabilities such as self-awareness, analytical
thinking, self-evaluation, motivation, decision-making, and reflective thought. These capabilities, beyond more
survival instincts, are what distinguish the human species from the rest of the physical world.
Human beings have the sole capacity reflect upon itself, and in the process develop self-awareness,
become motivated, and then desire to grow and change for the better; and are prompted to mature and
improve until it reaches its desired level of development toward maturity and fullness (Carl Rogers 1961).

Personal development may defined as a process in which

persons reflect upon themselves, understand who they are,
accept what they discover about themselves, and learn (or
unlearn) new sets of values, attitudes, behavior, and thinking
skills to reach their fullest potential as human being.

ORIGINS OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The evolution of understanding of human development may have started eons ago when the first Homo
sapiens walked the face of the earth. The cavemen who drew figures on their cave walls attempted to narrate
their experiences such as hunting. The act of drawing can be deemed as an attempt toward creative
expression and narration. It was during the time of the western philosophers, particularly the Greek thinkers,
when questions about the self and about being human were started to be asked.
In Republic, which some consider to be the greatest work on the philosophy of education, Plato argued
that building character, as much as intelligence, is what education is all about. Even during the early times of
human development and civilization, there was already an attempt to link individual development with social
responsibility (“Explaining personal and social development” by the young adult learner’s partnership,
Queens’s printer 2003). This could be the seeds of personal development in western thinking that eventually
evolved into the human potential movement in the 1960’s influenced by the popular philosophies at the time:
existentialism and humanism psychology.
Eastern thought may have understood personal development through another concept. The great
Chinese being will always desire to become the “Superior man,” not just to his peers and followers, but to
himself most especially. He envisioned what Confucius must have understood s a consequence of personal
development (the ethics of Confucius, Chapter 1: what constitutes a Superior Man?).
Even religions may have influenced personal development through their adherence to many rituals in
self-discipline, meditation, prayer, physical exercises such as yoga and fasting, and creative acts of
expressions such as singing, dancing, and acting.
PSYCHOLOGY AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Pychology being the study of human thinking and behaviour, serves as a foundation for personal
development.
The school of thought that gave birth to the contremporary understanding of oersoanl development
started during the Flourishing of humanistic and postive psychology in the 1950s, which dealt with personal
groth and meaning as a way of reaching ones fullest potentials.
The two proponents of humanistic psychology were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. While Maslow
theorized the five stages of human development based on a hierarchy of needs, peaking in what he termed as
“self-actualization,” Carl Rogers, in his Psychotheraphy practice, theorized that the “the individual has within
himself the capacity and tendency, latent if not evident, to move forward toward maturity.”
 CARL ROGERS

Humanist Maslows Hierarchy of needs to theorized

the five stages of Human Development
This illustrations depicts Leonardo da Vinci’s
Vitruvian Man representing his own reflection
On human proportion and architecture,
Superimposed on a human head to
Represent humanism.

As humanistic Psychology waned in the late 1970s, it was eventually revived decades later.
Martin Seligman, a noted psychologist and president of the American Psychological Association,
realized how psychology, after the second world war, puts more emphasis in diagnosing, treating, and
preventing psychological disorders and therefore focusing on a disease model of human nature. Martin
Seligman and Mihaly Cssikszentmihalyi helped refocus this emphasis of psychology from a disease model
toward what is good and positive about human persons and their desire to achieve their full potentials
 The positive psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania defines positive [psychology as the
scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is
founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within
them, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
While personal development falls within the realm of psychology, it caannot be detached from the
development of the brain and the rest of the physical body.
Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood. Although scientsits and
psychologists may slightly differ in pegging ages 11 or 12, and lasting about 18 years of age.
In the philpppine context, authors Corpuz, Luca, Borabo, and Lucido defined the three stages of
adolescence as:

 Early adolescence – beteen 10 and 13 years of age

 Middle adolescence – between 14 and 16 years of age
 Late adolescence – between 17 and 20 years of age
Adolence starts with the biological changes called puberty. The physical body undegoes growth spurts
at this time, for both male and female, leading toward physical maturity.
Biological changes bring about conitive (thinking and reasoning) and affective (feelings and emotions)
changes. The child, who has reached adolescence, is now capable of reasoning about abstract concepts and
problems (piaget). At this point, the adolescent become more inquisitive about things like philosophy, religion,
and politics. This is also the stage when they begin to ask questions about their identity. Relationships with
family and friends are also affected by puberty during adolescence. Friends become the center of realtionships
more than family.
SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
As we discused personal deveopment in the psychological, social, and bilogical contexts, it is also
important to consider the spirituality and religious beliefs of a person, and how these influence personal
development. According to a research study conducted among US teens, the formation of ones identity
includes attitudes about religion. This reflection is left to the student to find out how his or her religious beliefs
influence ones ientity development and understanding of personal development.