happened to see one of those "news" stories where the
reporter interviews ordinary people and asks them about
current events. This time, the questions were about
identifying people from politics and entertainment. Most
people could identify music and movies stars, but
were clueless about the Vice President and political
candidates.
As always, it was outrageous and silly.
As a student of history, it made me very sad.
Obviously, there is far more to education and personal
development than history. There are languages and
architecture. There are music and art, technology and
travel to be considered. There are the skills associated
with cooking, parenting and investing. Personal Development
covers a multitude of interests and topics.
Even the topic of Personal Development is, in itself, an
interesting topic. In the eighteenth century, personal
development was mostly concerned with personal virtue. Ben
Franklin had thirteen virtues which he studied in sequence,
over and over, throughout his life. He would focus on
Thrift or Honesty for an entire week, then move on to the
next virtue for a week, thus spending four weeks every year
on each of his thirteen virtues.
In the nineteenth century, the focus of personal
development gradually came to focus on education more
broadly. An educated person was expected to read both Greek
and Latin, and to be familiar with the Great Books and
philosophy. Every emigrant, even settlers on the Frontier
(in the U.S.), wanted their children to be literate and
understand American history.
In the twentieth century, personal development was all
about financial success, power and influence. Dale
Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" was
one of the best-selling books of the century, along with
Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich." Everyone who wanted
to become someone read the books or listened to audio
programs to get ahead.
Today, our options include all of the above, plus endless
additions. For many of us, however, personal development
has been reduced to mastering our phones and gathering
friends on Facebook. There is nothing wrong with mastering
these forms of communication! But we have so many more
options!
We can focus on our personal virtues, on history or art. We
can learn languages, either online or by visiting other
countries and cultures. We can practice a martial art or
paint. We can furnish our homes with our own woodworking
projects, or develop our culinary skills. We can learn to
ski or sail, or skateboard, scuba dive or scale mountains.
But too often, we do our work (often to the point of
exhaustion), then we run errands and watch TV. And
personally, I nap.
To me, this does not seem to represent the height of human
potential! Whatever interests or excites you, explore it!
Practice being a "beginner" or an "amateur" (in the classic
sense), who learns and grows, stretches and masters new
things for the sheer joy of it. Read! Turn from the sitcoms
to real news, documentaries, histories and travelogues.
Learn to invest both your time and your money--it will pay
enormous profits and make your life richer in the bargain.
Personal development is a never-ending process that will
make you a better, happier person.
Get good at learning.
reporter interviews ordinary people and asks them about
current events. This time, the questions were about
identifying people from politics and entertainment. Most
people could identify music and movies stars, but
were clueless about the Vice President and political
candidates.
As always, it was outrageous and silly.
As a student of history, it made me very sad.
Obviously, there is far more to education and personal
development than history. There are languages and
architecture. There are music and art, technology and
travel to be considered. There are the skills associated
with cooking, parenting and investing. Personal Development
covers a multitude of interests and topics.
Even the topic of Personal Development is, in itself, an
interesting topic. In the eighteenth century, personal
development was mostly concerned with personal virtue. Ben
Franklin had thirteen virtues which he studied in sequence,
over and over, throughout his life. He would focus on
Thrift or Honesty for an entire week, then move on to the
next virtue for a week, thus spending four weeks every year
on each of his thirteen virtues.
In the nineteenth century, the focus of personal
development gradually came to focus on education more
broadly. An educated person was expected to read both Greek
and Latin, and to be familiar with the Great Books and
philosophy. Every emigrant, even settlers on the Frontier
(in the U.S.), wanted their children to be literate and
understand American history.
In the twentieth century, personal development was all
about financial success, power and influence. Dale
Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" was
one of the best-selling books of the century, along with
Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich." Everyone who wanted
to become someone read the books or listened to audio
programs to get ahead.
Today, our options include all of the above, plus endless
additions. For many of us, however, personal development
has been reduced to mastering our phones and gathering
friends on Facebook. There is nothing wrong with mastering
these forms of communication! But we have so many more
options!
We can focus on our personal virtues, on history or art. We
can learn languages, either online or by visiting other
countries and cultures. We can practice a martial art or
paint. We can furnish our homes with our own woodworking
projects, or develop our culinary skills. We can learn to
ski or sail, or skateboard, scuba dive or scale mountains.
But too often, we do our work (often to the point of
exhaustion), then we run errands and watch TV. And
personally, I nap.
To me, this does not seem to represent the height of human
potential! Whatever interests or excites you, explore it!
Practice being a "beginner" or an "amateur" (in the classic
sense), who learns and grows, stretches and masters new
things for the sheer joy of it. Read! Turn from the sitcoms
to real news, documentaries, histories and travelogues.
Learn to invest both your time and your money--it will pay
enormous profits and make your life richer in the bargain.
Personal development is a never-ending process that will
make you a better, happier person.
Get good at learning.
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