THE 7 STAGES OF PERSONAL GROWTH (BASED ON UDEMY TEACHINGS)
Personal change is an internal experience and also an external one at the same time. It stems from a change in our mindset and thus branches out from there.
In truth, we are always moving toward some things and away from other things. But for lasting change to occur in our lives, we must pass through a series of tipping points in relevant succession. This doesn't mean that personal change can’t happen quickly because it can! What it does mean is that all of the most significant changes that we experience in life follow a particular sequence.
THE PATHWAY TOWARDS PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
Often, we can easily recognize this process in a typical life span. We all start out as infants and progress through childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle age, and eventually old age. Although some people pass through these stages at different rates and different speeds, the sequence always remains the same.
These clearly defined stages of life are not limited to physical change alone. Change always occurs on all levels and in all of our primary areas of life. Psychological and emotional change works in conjunction with the physical and vice-versa. A very similar order is in involved in the process of personal development and growth.
STAGE 1: DEVELOPING AWARENESS
The motivation for change begins with a sense that we aren't fulfilling our full potential in at least one area of our life. This awareness can be subtle at first, where you perhaps just realize that you no longer feel as efficient in certain areas of your life.
These indications initiate your personal recognition that something needs to be adjusted in either your mindset or in a practical area of your life. Even before you can put your finger on the particular source of internal discomfort, you feel it on some level.
STAGE 2: DISCOVERY
The discovery stage is where your conscious mind has located the primary source of your discomfort and is doing its best to help you become more aware of its presence. Be warned, at this stage, you may experience some resistance from your ego!
The human ego often seeks refuge in denial, where it pretends that your discomfort is resulting from a source external to you as opposed to an internal one. For personal change to occur beyond this stage, it's crucial that we accept that the source of our uneasiness is within ourselves and also within our ability to control. Capacity to adopt a new mindset is a prerequisite for moving on to the next stage in this process of personal change.
STAGE 3: OWNERSHIP
In this stage, we must take sole responsibility for our discomfort or unease. That means that we must fully acknowledge that the source of our problems is internal and not external. At this stage, we consciously recognize that it is our thought patterns, emotional inconsistencies, lifestyle habits, perception, limiting beliefs or our faulty reasoning that needs to be amended.
This essential step brings us to the realization that we alone are in control of how it is we choose to respond or react to the circumstances/situations we find ourselves in. In life, empowerment comes via taking responsibility and assuming full ownership of any given situation opens the doorway towards a whole new level of maturity, empowerment and personal growth.
STAGE 4: EXPOSURE
This is the stage in the process of change where we expand our search to identify the habit or attitude that has stopped serving us. This can be challenging for many reasons. One reason being that logic is seldom a useful tool in the emotional arena. Secondly, we tend to assume that our beliefs are universal truths and therefore consistently look for ways to justify them. Rather than initiating a confrontation, it's often easier to reflect upon our patterns of behaviour to identify how our different beliefs (Albert Ellis' Irrational Beliefs) might be affecting our lives. Once we recognize that we've been held back or limited by a particular idea, we will then have both logic and emotion supporting our desire for change.
STAGE 5: INTENTION
This is the threshold of personal change. You have identified an old belief (or behaviour pattern) and you are now motivated to replace it with something more useful. You're ready to move away from your previous stage and embrace the new. It’s time to choose a direction.
Upon reaching this stage in the process of change, it is relatively easy to identify what your desired state is (i.e. where you want to be). The same comparison process that exposed your source of initial discomfort will have now revealed your ideal future end goal. All that remains left for you to do is to embrace a proactive mindset and formulate your plan of action.
STAGE 6: ACTION
Taking consistent action is the only means by which to achieve real time results. If you don’t take action, nothing will change and your discomfort with the present reality will intensify due to your now greater awareness of it.
Taking action demands that we let go of fear and apathy and embrace faith and uncertainty as we step out of the comfort zone and into the gap between where we previously were and where it is that we envisage ourselves being.
STAGE 7: INTEGRATION
This is the last phase of the process of personal growth where change has now happened. What started out as a mental awareness that an adjustment needed to be made in your life, has consequentially resulted in a new evolution in your journey of personal growth and development.
You have now grown in your appreciation of what's achievable for you and at this stage, it is also likely that you have let go of an established belief or pattern of behaviour that wasn't serving you. This has now been replaced with something more useful.
CHOOSE PERSONAL GROWTH!
The more you take control of this process, the more natural it becomes. For those who embrace change, personal growth becomes a way of life. Resisting change is the easier course of action, which only ends up costing people the sense of happiness and fulfillment they hope for. When you embrace change, you embrace life!
QUESTIONS FOR SELF REFLECTION:
1. How do you feel about personal change?
2. Do you ever resist making the changes that are needed to make improvements in your life?
3. How often do you conscientiously evaluate yourself to identify areas in your life that you want to grow and develop in?
Personal change is an internal experience and also an external one at the same time. It stems from a change in our mindset and thus branches out from there.
In truth, we are always moving toward some things and away from other things. But for lasting change to occur in our lives, we must pass through a series of tipping points in relevant succession. This doesn't mean that personal change can’t happen quickly because it can! What it does mean is that all of the most significant changes that we experience in life follow a particular sequence.
THE PATHWAY TOWARDS PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
Often, we can easily recognize this process in a typical life span. We all start out as infants and progress through childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle age, and eventually old age. Although some people pass through these stages at different rates and different speeds, the sequence always remains the same.
These clearly defined stages of life are not limited to physical change alone. Change always occurs on all levels and in all of our primary areas of life. Psychological and emotional change works in conjunction with the physical and vice-versa. A very similar order is in involved in the process of personal development and growth.
STAGE 1: DEVELOPING AWARENESS
The motivation for change begins with a sense that we aren't fulfilling our full potential in at least one area of our life. This awareness can be subtle at first, where you perhaps just realize that you no longer feel as efficient in certain areas of your life.
These indications initiate your personal recognition that something needs to be adjusted in either your mindset or in a practical area of your life. Even before you can put your finger on the particular source of internal discomfort, you feel it on some level.
STAGE 2: DISCOVERY
The discovery stage is where your conscious mind has located the primary source of your discomfort and is doing its best to help you become more aware of its presence. Be warned, at this stage, you may experience some resistance from your ego!
The human ego often seeks refuge in denial, where it pretends that your discomfort is resulting from a source external to you as opposed to an internal one. For personal change to occur beyond this stage, it's crucial that we accept that the source of our uneasiness is within ourselves and also within our ability to control. Capacity to adopt a new mindset is a prerequisite for moving on to the next stage in this process of personal change.
STAGE 3: OWNERSHIP
In this stage, we must take sole responsibility for our discomfort or unease. That means that we must fully acknowledge that the source of our problems is internal and not external. At this stage, we consciously recognize that it is our thought patterns, emotional inconsistencies, lifestyle habits, perception, limiting beliefs or our faulty reasoning that needs to be amended.
This essential step brings us to the realization that we alone are in control of how it is we choose to respond or react to the circumstances/situations we find ourselves in. In life, empowerment comes via taking responsibility and assuming full ownership of any given situation opens the doorway towards a whole new level of maturity, empowerment and personal growth.
STAGE 4: EXPOSURE
This is the stage in the process of change where we expand our search to identify the habit or attitude that has stopped serving us. This can be challenging for many reasons. One reason being that logic is seldom a useful tool in the emotional arena. Secondly, we tend to assume that our beliefs are universal truths and therefore consistently look for ways to justify them. Rather than initiating a confrontation, it's often easier to reflect upon our patterns of behaviour to identify how our different beliefs (Albert Ellis' Irrational Beliefs) might be affecting our lives. Once we recognize that we've been held back or limited by a particular idea, we will then have both logic and emotion supporting our desire for change.
STAGE 5: INTENTION
This is the threshold of personal change. You have identified an old belief (or behaviour pattern) and you are now motivated to replace it with something more useful. You're ready to move away from your previous stage and embrace the new. It’s time to choose a direction.
Upon reaching this stage in the process of change, it is relatively easy to identify what your desired state is (i.e. where you want to be). The same comparison process that exposed your source of initial discomfort will have now revealed your ideal future end goal. All that remains left for you to do is to embrace a proactive mindset and formulate your plan of action.
STAGE 6: ACTION
Taking consistent action is the only means by which to achieve real time results. If you don’t take action, nothing will change and your discomfort with the present reality will intensify due to your now greater awareness of it.
Taking action demands that we let go of fear and apathy and embrace faith and uncertainty as we step out of the comfort zone and into the gap between where we previously were and where it is that we envisage ourselves being.
STAGE 7: INTEGRATION
This is the last phase of the process of personal growth where change has now happened. What started out as a mental awareness that an adjustment needed to be made in your life, has consequentially resulted in a new evolution in your journey of personal growth and development.
You have now grown in your appreciation of what's achievable for you and at this stage, it is also likely that you have let go of an established belief or pattern of behaviour that wasn't serving you. This has now been replaced with something more useful.
CHOOSE PERSONAL GROWTH!
The more you take control of this process, the more natural it becomes. For those who embrace change, personal growth becomes a way of life. Resisting change is the easier course of action, which only ends up costing people the sense of happiness and fulfillment they hope for. When you embrace change, you embrace life!
QUESTIONS FOR SELF REFLECTION:
1. How do you feel about personal change?
2. Do you ever resist making the changes that are needed to make improvements in your life?
3. How often do you conscientiously evaluate yourself to identify areas in your life that you want to grow and develop in?