Self-development as a process. Forms of self-development

Self-development is a process, and like any process, self-development is necessary to achieve a certain goal. The peculiarity of self-development is that goals are always changing, depending on the level of awareness, ability to take risks, self-discipline, self-confidence ... All these criteria determine what goal we set for ourselves and how soon we will achieve this goal.

Personal self-development can be divided into several steps, we will talk about them below, and now let's think about what drives us, what makes us get up and go along this interesting, sometimes difficult path of self-development.

So, as soon as we come into this world, we are surrounded by adults, our parents, perhaps brothers or sisters, grandparents. And, one way or another, they are older, stronger, smarter, wiser than us. And we unconsciously, sometimes consciously, compare ourselves with them, and this comparison is always not in our favor.

And it is at this moment, when we are faced with the fact that we are in some way “worse” than the people around us, we develop, described in detail by A. Adler, an insufficiency complex. In an effort to overcome this complex of insufficiency, we begin to engage in self-development.

The process of self-knowledge

The first step in self-development is the process of self-knowledge. We strive to identify ourselves in this world, position ourselves in our mental coordinate system, in relation to our idols, ideals, work colleagues, members of our family (both parental and the family that we have already created), religion, spiritual teachers and mentors... In general, we are looking for an answer to the question “who am I in this world?” This search may last a moment, but it may drag on for many years.

I have some flaws

The second step is to admit to myself that I have some flaws that lead me to undesirable consequences and results in life. This is where self-acceptance plays a very important role. If we accept ourselves, then there are no problems with an objective view of the surrounding reality.

And we understand where we are and what (who) surrounds us. We may not like it, but we understand that it is. As soon as our level of self-acceptance drops, we begin to justify ourselves, find people who, in our opinion, are “worse” than us. And this allows us not to change anything in our lives. And, therefore, the process of self-development is completed.

How would I like it to be

The third step comes if we do not give up and openly look at our shortcomings (here it is important to understand that this is only our own subjective assessment, what are our shortcomings and what are our advantages), and we begin to think about how I would like it to be . If not, then how? Often, many stop at this step.

Because we know how we DON'T WANT, but we don't even think about what we WANT. And then we begin to complain about how badly we live, because we are surrounded by everything that we do not want, and what we are trying to avoid (why this happens, you can understand after watching the movie The Secret, everything is described in detail there). In this context, it is important for us to avoid the state of the victim, and not to shift the responsibility for the cause of our discontent to others.

How to achieve the desired result

The fourth step is to see how I can achieve the desired result. What do I need to do to become what I want? And here on our way we can meet people, books, films, trainings that show different options and ways to achieve our goal.

And the help of other people is effective, provided that we have already gone through the first 3 steps on our own. Otherwise, it will turn out that we realize and justify the expectations of other people about us, about how they would like to see us, and this is far from self-development.

And you may get by without the help of others, and that's perfectly normal. However, when it comes to the need to consider as many different options as possible, then a detached, independent view is very useful.

And avoid those people who will insist on their opinion as the only true one, always reserve the right to choose and the right to doubt that the words and ideas of another person (or group of people) are one hundred percent correct. It may be true for them, but it doesn't matter to you. (However, like this article - perhaps these are just someone's ideas that will not evoke any response from you)

Steps to achieve the goal

And the last, fifth step is action. We make any efforts, take steps to achieve the goal that we set for ourselves in the 3rd step.

And at the end, we again go to step number 1. We again begin to evaluate what we have achieved, what we are capable of, what place we occupy relative to those around us. And in fact, the process of self-development is endless, there will always be ideals that we strive for, in comparison with which we are not satisfied with our position.

And this process stops either at the moment of death (which has not yet been proven), or at the moment when we stop believing in ourselves, in our strengths, our goal seems unattainable, and we stop, but only for a while ...

If we turn to self-development as a specific process unfolding in time and space of human life, we should note its ambiguity and diversity. Here it is much more difficult to clearly identify the sequence of actions that characterize self-development than, for example, the sequence of actions that describe the process of self-knowledge. This is due to many reasons, the most important of which is the existence of various forms of self-development.

It is no coincidence that in the Russian language there are many terms that fix different nuances of the process of self-development: self-presentation, self-expression, self-affirmation, self-improvement, self-actualization, self-realization, etc. , the originality of the activity: to express oneself, to establish oneself, to be realized, to improve. Therefore, it is not possible to simply analyze the goals, motives, methods and results of self-development, as was the case with self-knowledge. All this can be analyzed within the framework of one form or another of self-development.

What forms of self-development are the most important and describe the self-development of their totality quite fully? These include: self-affirmation, self-improvement and self-actualization. self-affirmation allows you to fully express yourself as a person. Self improvement expresses the desire to approach some ideal. Self-actualization- identify a certain potential in yourself and use it in life. All three forms allow you to express yourself and realize in varying degrees. Therefore, they adequately characterize the process of self-development as a whole, where the internal moment of movement is the self-construction of the personality.

These three main forms of self-development are closely related to each other. Primary, on the one hand, is self-affirmation. In order to improve and become fully actualized, you must first establish yourself in your own eyes and in the eyes of others. On the other hand, a self-improving and self-actualizing personality is objectively self-affirming, regardless of how the person himself at these stages of development feels the need for self-affirmation. At the same time, acts of primary assertion of oneself are also acts of self-actualization. Given the above, let's analyze the goals, motives, methods and results of self-development in the forms of self-affirmation, self-improvement and self-actualization.

self-affirmation

Recently, self-affirmation has become one of the investigated problems of modern science. Attempts are being made to consider its philosophical, general psychological aspects, to determine the specifics at different age stages, to develop special training sessions for positive self-affirmation. The efforts of scientists are also “spurred on” by the fact that, especially in adolescence, during early adolescence, and later on, self-affirmation often takes on a negative character in the form of drug addiction, alcohol and tobacco use, and illegal acts.

What is self-affirmation? Based on the structure of the term, it consists of two parts: “on its own” - independently, without anyone's help, and “affirmation” - the desire to make something solid in itself. Therefore, to assert oneself is to independently make something in oneself or a person as a whole solid, so that this quality is not shaken by circumstances, other people, or the self-asserting subject.

Example. In order to establish himself in his mind, a person sets himself more and more difficult intellectual tasks; solving them, he is convinced that he is really smart. A teenager, in order to establish himself in his sense of adulthood, begins to smoke, swear, i.e. do what is forbidden by existing standards for children.

If you try to give a scientific definition, it will sound as follows.

Self-affirmation is a specific activity within the framework of self-development aimed at finding and confirming one's certain personality traits, character traits, and ways of behaving in ideas.

This activity is based on the need for self-affirmation, which is synthesized from the primary needs of competitive existence among other representatives of the living world. In a person, it takes the form of three motives: to be, how to be better than others; and in a negative way - to be the worst of all. The first two motives characterize self-affirmation, the last - self-denial. Of course, as we noted earlier, the motives of self-affirmation are closely related to other motives: self-knowledge, self-improvement, self-actualization.

Goals of self-affirmation may be different. Depending on the characteristics of the spheres of self-affirmation, motives and needs, they can vary significantly. For one person, the goal is to gain confidence, for another - to prove that he is no worse than others, for a third - by all means to experience a sense of superiority, his exclusivity, and therefore, the validity of the right to lead others.

Ways of self-affirmation are also varied. They depend on the chosen spheres and types of self-affirmation. Spheres of self-affirmation can be practically all types of life activity that acquire personal significance for a person: for someone it is work or study; for someone - sport, art, science; for someone - illegal actions. An important role is even played by the fact in whose eyes a person is affirmed: in his own or close and significant people, strangers, etc. At the same time, all methods can be classified depending on the leading motive of self-affirmation and self-negation. The motive "to be like everyone else" defines such ways as to do what others do, not to take actions that go beyond the expectations of this group. If it is customary to condemn someone or laugh, mock someone, then personally, she will prove to everyone that she, like everyone else, condemns, laughs, mocks. If it is customary to perform noble deeds and flaunt them, then she will do the same. If intelligence acquires significance in a group, then, consequently, the manifestation of intelligence will act as a means of self-affirmation. In any case, the mechanism of conformity works here, i.e. dependence on the group, compliance with the group. The motive “to be better than everyone else” gives rise to such ways as to take leadership positions, assert oneself in the will, mind, resourcefulness (due to possession of what others do not have, or due to neglect, contempt, other forms of negative, derogatory attitude towards others). The motive “to be worse than everyone else” leads to ways of self-denial of personality, when a person demonstrates that he is not worthy of the attention of others, does not have talent, is the worst. Such a position often gives certain gains, a person begins to feel sorry for, sympathize with, provide him with certain advantages (“what to take from him”), but at this time he asserts himself through such self-humiliation.

Results of self-affirmation obvious - they give a person a sense of their need, usefulness, "justify" in his eyes the meaning of his own life and activity; the attitude "I am no worse than others" or a feeling of superiority, one's exclusivity, overcoming any actions and actions, begins to work. In the case of self-denial, a person is affirmed in his worthlessness, uselessness, baseness, which sometimes can also give its advantages.

But other high spheres of self-affirmation are also possible, when a person sets more significant goals of self-improvement and self-actualization. In this case, the personal need for self-affirmation recedes into the background, although it does not completely lose its potential, and self-affirmation becomes an objective process that depends not only on how and in what way the person affirms himself, but also on how and in what way others affirm the personality, recognizing her dignity.

Self improvement

Self-improvement means that a person himself (on his own) strives to be better, strives for some ideal, acquires those personality traits and qualities that he does not yet have, masters those types of activities that he did not own. In other words, self-improvement is a process of conscious management of the development of the individual, his qualities and abilities. Although the ideal, as a rule, is unattainable __________ and is understood by each person in his own way, nevertheless, the trend towards development, if any, gives meaning to life, saturates it with fullness, stability and certainty.

Self-improvement can go in different ways: in one case - the acquisition of socially significant properties and qualities, in the other - the mastery of negative ways of life of ideation. It is one thing when a person improves himself in acquiring professional competence, another thing is when he hones his thieving skills or ways of manipulating people. The reverse process of improvement is also possible, which is called self-destruction when, for various reasons, a person makes special efforts that lead not to personal improvement, the achievement of an ideal, but, on the contrary, to degradation and regression, the loss of achievements, personality traits and qualities that were inherent in him before.

Here we will mainly focus on the positive aspect of cultivation, which called personal growth. In modern psychological literature, there is an unimaginable number of concepts that describe the features, originality, goals of personal growth.

In parapsychology, esotericism (esoteric - secret knowledge), personal growth is seen as a spiritual practice, the expansion of consciousness through familiarization with intimate knowledge. As means, special techniques are used that awaken parapsychological abilities: clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis, etc.

In psychoanalysis, this is a tendency towards self-development, understood as a movement towards greater freedom (K. Jung); movement from self-centeredness for the purpose of personal superiority to constructive mastery of the environment, understood as movement towards perfection (A. Adler). In Gestalt therapy - the transition of reliance on the environment to reliance on oneself and self-regulation. In humanistic psychology, personal growth means the acquisition of greater autonomy, independence of the individual, the desire for maturity and psychological health (K. Rogers) or the consistent satisfaction of ever higher needs (A. Maslow).

As self-improvement goals there are not only and not so much goals of self-affirmation - to be no worse than others, to be better than others, as goals - to be better than you were; achieve more significant results than you achieved.

Ways of self-improvement are also varied. They can be defined in a wide variety of activities. For example, mastering new knowledge, new types of activity, a person becomes one step higher in his development. By setting a specific goal - not to conflict with others - and achieving it, he also rises to a new level.

Refusing bad habits, he again takes a step in his development. This list can be continued. How can this be done? The means of self-education act as means of self-improvement. These include competition with oneself, self-commitment, self-order, etc. We will dwell on them in more detail when we talk about the culture of self-education.

To the results of self-improvement relate primarily to: satisfaction with yourself, with your achievements, with the fact that you are coping with your own requirements; satisfaction with life, activities, relationships with others.

Self-actualization

Self-actualization is the highest form of self-development and includes to a certain extent the two previous forms, especially the form of self-improvement, having largely common goals and motives with it. The difference between self-actualization and previous forms is that here the highest semantic motives of human behavior and life are actualized. According to the definition of the author of the theory of self-actualization A. Maslow, self-actualization is the ability of a person to become what he is capable of becoming, i.e. he must fulfill his mission - to realize what is inherent in him, in accordance with his own highest needs: Truth, Beauty, Perfection, etc. According to A. Maslow, the need for self-actualization is the top in a series of human needs, it cannot arise and be realized if the needs of a lower order are not realized.

Thus, on the basis of the need for self-actualization, motives are born that direct a person to the realization of the higher meanings of his existence. According to another representative of humanistic psychology, V. Frankl, the meanings of life are not given to a person initially, they must be specially sought. In his opinion, there are three most common ways to find meaning: what we do in life (creativity, creation); what we take from the world (experiences); the position we take in relation to a destiny that we cannot change. Accordingly, they distinguish three groups of values: creation, experience and relationships. Meaning is determined by the person who asks the question, or by the situation that also implies the question. The method by which meanings are found, V. Frankl calls conscience. Conscience- intuitive search for the only meaning of this particular situation. Meaning of life not in search of pleasure, striving for happiness, but in the comprehension and realization of values: creation, experiences, relationships.

Based on the need for self-actualization, motives are born in search of the meaning of one's own life as a whole. These motives determine the specific form of self-development called self-actualization. The purpose of self-actualization is to achieve the fullness of the sensation of life as a very short period of time, which, according to all the canons, should have caused despair. But a person, with rare exceptions, does not experience such despair, since he lives life as best he can, and if he manages to live it in its entirety, i.e., self-actualize and fulfill himself, then he experiences the highest satisfaction with himself and his life, is able to be active until the very end rejoice in success and the fact that it was he who managed to do something.

It is no coincidence that in the Russian language there are many terms that fix various nuances of the process of self-development: self-presentation, self-expression, self-affirmation, self-improvement, self-actualization, self-realization, etc. - characterizes the specificity, originality of activity: to express oneself, to establish oneself, to be realized, to improve. Therefore, it is not possible to simply analyze the goals, motives, methods and results of self-development, as was the case with self-knowledge. All this can be analyzed within the framework of one form or another of self-development.

What forms of self-development are the most important and describe self-development in their entirety quite fully? These include: self-affirmation, self-improvement and self-actualization. Self-assertion makes it possible to declare oneself fully as a person. Self-improvement expresses the desire to get closer to some ideal. Self-actualization is to reveal a certain potential in yourself and use it in life. All three forms allow you to express yourself and realize in varying degrees. Therefore, they adequately characterize the process of self-development as a whole, where the internal moment of movement is the self-building of the personality.

These three main forms of self-development are closely related to each other. Primary, on the one hand, is self-affirmation. In order to be perfected and actualized to the full extent, it is first necessary to establish oneself in one's own eyes and in the eyes of others. On the other hand, a self-improving and self-actualizing personality is objectively self-affirming, regardless of how the person himself at these stages of development feels the need for self-affirmation. At the same time, acts of primary assertion of oneself are also acts of self-actualization. Given the above, let's analyze the goals, motives, methods and results of self-development in the forms of self-affirmation, self-improvement and self-actualization.

self-affirmation

Recently, self-affirmation has become one of the investigated problems of modern science. Attempts are being made to consider its philosophical, general psychological aspects, to determine the specifics at different age stages, to develop special training sessions for positive self-affirmation. The efforts of scientists are also "spurred on" by the fact that, especially in adolescence, during early adolescence, and later on, self-affirmation often takes on a negative character in the form of drug addiction, alcohol and tobacco use, and illegal acts.

What is self-affirmation? Based on the structure of the term, it consists of two parts: "itself" - independently, without anyone's help, and "affirmation" - the desire to make something solid in itself. Therefore, to assert oneself is to independently make something in oneself or a person as a whole solid, so that this quality is not shaken by circumstances, other people, or the affirming subject himself.

If you try to give a scientific definition, it will sound as follows.

Self-affirmation is a specific activity within the framework of self-development to find confirmation of one's certain personality traits, character traits, ways of behavior and activity.

This activity is based on the need for self-affirmation, which is synthesized from the primary needs of competitive existence among other representatives of the living world. In a person, it takes the form of three motives: to be, like everyone else, to be better than others; and negatively - to be the worst of all. The first two motives characterize self-affirmation, the last - self-denial. Of course, as we noted earlier, the motives of self-affirmation are closely related to other motives: self-knowledge, self-improvement, self-actualization.

The goals of self-assertion can be different. Depending on the characteristics of the spheres of self-affirmation, motives and needs, they can vary significantly. For one person, the goal is to gain confidence, for another - to prove that he is no worse than others, for the third - to experience a sense of superiority, his exclusivity, and therefore the validity of the right to lead others.

Ways of self-affirmation are also diverse. They depend on the chosen spheres and types of self-affirmation. Spheres of self-affirmation can be almost all types of life that acquire personal significance for a person: for someone it is work or study; for someone - sport, art, science; For some, it's illegal. An important role is even played by the fact in whose eyes a person is affirmed: in his own or close and significant people, strangers, etc. At the same time, all methods can be classified depending on the leading motive of self-affirmation and self-negation. The motive "to be like everyone else" defines such ways as to do what others do, not to take actions that go beyond the expectations of this group. If it is customary to condemn someone or laugh, mock someone, then the person will prove to everyone that she, like everyone else, condemns, laughs, mocks. If it is customary to do noble deeds and flaunt them, then she will do the same. If intelligence acquires significance in a group, then, consequently, the manifestation of intelligence will act as a means of self-affirmation. In any case, the mechanism of conformity works here, that is, dependence on the group, compliance with the group. The motive "to be better than everyone else" gives rise to such ways as to take leadership positions, assert oneself in the will, mind, resourcefulness (due to possessing what others do not have, or due to neglect, contempt, other forms of negative, derogatory attitude towards others ). The motive "to be worse than everyone else" leads to ways of self-denial of personality, when a person demonstrates that he is not worthy of the attention of others, does not have talent, is the worst. Such a position often gives certain gains, a person begins to feel sorry for, sympathize with, provide him with certain advantages ("what to take from him"), at the same time he asserts himself through such self-abasement.

The results of self-affirmation are obvious - they give a person a sense of their need, usefulness, "justify" in his eyes the meaning of his own life and activity; the attitude "I am not worse than others" or a feeling of superiority, one's exclusivity, overcoming any actions and actions, begins to work. In the case of self-denial, a person is affirmed in his worthlessness, uselessness, baseness, which can sometimes also give its advantages.

Self improvement

Self-improvement is perhaps the most adequate form of self-development. It means that a person himself (on his own) strives to be better, strives for some ideal, acquires those personality traits and qualities that he does not yet have, masters those types of activities that he did not own. In other words, self-improvement is a process of conscious management of the development of the individual, his qualities and abilities. Although the ideal, as a rule, is unattainable and is understood by each person in his own way, nevertheless, the tendency to development, if any, gives meaning to life, saturates it with fullness, stability and certainty.

Self-improvement can go in different ways: in one case, the acquisition of socially significant properties and qualities; in the other, it is the mastery of negative ways of life and activity. It’s one thing when a person improves himself in acquiring professional competence, it’s another thing when he hones his thieving skills or ways to manipulate people. The reverse process of improvement is also possible, which is called self-destruction, when, for various reasons, a person makes special efforts that lead not to improving the personality, achieving the ideal. , but, on the contrary, to degradation and regression, the loss of achievements, personality traits and qualities that were inherent in him before.

Here we will mainly focus on the positive aspect of self-improvement, which is called personal growth. In modern psychological literature there is an unimaginable number of concepts that describe the features, originality, goals of personal growth.

In parapsychology, esotericism (esotericism - secret knowledge), personal growth is seen as a spiritual practice, the expansion of consciousness through familiarization with secret knowledge. Special techniques are used as means that awaken parapsychological abilities: clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis, etc. In psychoanalysis, this is a tendency towards individuation, or self-development, understood as a movement towards greater freedom (K. Jung); movement from self-centeredness for the purpose of personal superiority to constructive mastery of the environment, understood as a movement towards perfection (A. Adler). In gestalt therapy - the transition of reliance on the environment to reliance on oneself and self-regulation (F. Perls). In humanistic psychology, personal growth means the acquisition of ever greater autonomy, independence of the individual, the desire for maturity and psychological health (K. Rogers) or the consistent satisfaction of ever higher needs (A. Maslow).

If we try to generalize these approaches, using the analysis scheme we have already adopted, then it should be noted that the desire for self-improvement, for personal growth is based on a corresponding need, on the basis of which the motives for self-improvement are formed (the motive of self-realization is the limiting one), the motives for personal growth. In other words, self-improvement is necessary in order to fully realize oneself in this life, and through self-realization to understand and gain the meaning of one's existence, the meaning of life, which is already characteristic of a higher form of self-development - self-actualization.

The goals of self-improvement are not only and not so much the goals of self-affirmation - to be no worse than others, to be better than others, but the goals - to be better than you were; achieve more significant results than you achieved.

Ways of self-improvement are also diverse. They can be defined in a wide variety of activities. For example, mastering new knowledge, new types of activity, a person becomes one step higher in his development. By setting a specific goal - not to conflict with others - and achieving it, he also rises to a new level.

Refusing bad habits, he again takes a step in his development. This list can be continued. How can this be done? As a means of self-improvement are the means of self-education. These include competition with oneself, self-commitment, self-order, etc. We will dwell on them in more detail when we talk about the culture of self-education.

The results of self-improvement include, first of all: satisfaction with yourself, with your achievements, with the fact that you are coping with your own requirements; satisfaction with life, activities, relationships with other people.

Self-actualization

Self-actualization is the highest form of self-development and includes, to a certain extent, the two previous forms, especially the form of self-improvement, having largely common goals and motives with it. The difference between self-actualization and previous forms is that here the highest semantic motives of human behavior and life are actualized. According to the definition of the author of the theory of self-actualization A. Maslow, self-actualization is the ability of a person to become what he is capable of becoming, i.e. he must fulfill his mission - to realize what is inherent in him, in accordance with his own higher needs: Truth , Beauty, Perfection, etc. According to A. Maslow, the need for self-actualization is the top in a series of human needs, it cannot arise and be realized if the needs of a lower order are not realized.

Thus, on the basis of the need for self-actualization, motives are born that direct a person to the realization of the higher meanings of his existence. According to another representative of humanistic psychology, V. Frankl, the meanings of life are not given to a person initially, they must be specifically sought. In his opinion, there are three most common ways to search for meaning: what we do in life (creativity, creation); what we take from the world (experiences); the position we take in relation to a destiny that we cannot change. Accordingly, they distinguish three groups of values: creation, experience and relationships. Meaning is determined by the person who asks the question, or by the situation that also implies the question. V. Frankl calls the method by which meanings are found conscience. Conscience is an intuitive search for the only meaning of this particular situation. The meaning of life is not in the search for pleasure, the pursuit of happiness, but in the comprehension and realization of values: creation, experiences, relationships.

On the basis of the need for self-actualization, motives are born in search of the meaning of one's own life as a whole. These motives determine the specific form of self-development called self-actualization. The goal of self-actualization is to achieve the fullness of the sensation of life as a very short period of time, which, according to all the canons, should have caused despair. But a person, with rare exceptions, does not experience such despair, since he lives life as best he can, and if he manages to live it to the fullest, that is, self-actualize and fulfill himself, then he experiences the highest satisfaction with himself and his life, is able to the end to be active, rejoice in successes and the fact that it was he who managed to do something.

Of course, as in previous cases, there is also a reverse trend - the desire not to follow one's destiny. This is where self-deception, numerous defenses, lies in front of oneself are born, and as a result - despair, which E. Erickson brilliantly recorded in his periodization.

So, in the process of self-actualization, two lines of human existence closely merge - self-knowledge and self-development. To know oneself as far as possible means to acquire the basis for self-actualization as the ability to use one's talents, abilities, and possibilities to the fullest. Self-actualization - to find the meaning of life, to realize oneself, thereby fulfill one's mission, one's destiny and, as a result, feel the fullness of life, the fullness of existence.

What are the ways of self-actualization? A. Maslow identifies eight such paths (or ways) of behavior leading to self-actualization:

· living and disinterested experience with full concentration and immersion; at the moment of self-actualization, the individual is wholly and completely human; this is the moment when the Self realizes itself;
· life is a process of constant choice: promotion or retreat;
Self-actualization is a continuous process when multiple individual choices are given: to lie or tell the truth, to steal or not to steal, etc.; self-actualization means choosing the possibility of growth;
The ability of a person to listen to himself, that is, to focus not on the opinions of others, but on his own experience, "listen to the voice of impulse";
The ability to be honest, the ability to take responsibility. As A. Maslow notes, "every time a person takes responsibility, he self-actualizes";
the ability to be independent, to be ready to defend positions independent of others;
not only the final state, but also the process of actualizing one's capabilities;
· moments: supreme experiences, moments of ecstasy that cannot be bought, cannot be guaranteed and cannot even be sought;
· a person's ability to expose their own psychopathology - the ability to identify their defenses and then find the strength to overcome them.

A. Maslow in his works also indicates ways to help people in gaining the ability to self-actualize. In his opinion, the task of true learning is to be the best person as possible.

If we talk about the results of self-actualization, then they can clearly be determined from everything that has been said before. The most important result is the feeling of meaningfulness of life and the fullness of your being, that you did everything right, despite private mistakes and mistakes, that others recognized you as a person, your unique individuality and at the same time universality. And for this, of course, it is worth living, creating, self-improving and self-actualizing.

Thus, we tried to show that self-development is a complex, non-linear, multifaceted process that can go both in a positive direction and in a negative one in terms of compliance with the highest standards and ideals developed by mankind. As a process, it has its own goals, motives, methods, results, which are determined by the forms of self-development.

I would like to end this chapter with the words of V. Frankl, who clearly expressed the essence of a person’s self-development in his attitude to his own destiny: “Fate cannot be changed, otherwise there would be no fate. A person can change himself, otherwise he would not be a person. and to reshape oneself is the prerogative of human existence."

Having characterized self-development as a process, let us now dwell on the problem of psychological mechanisms that enable a person to assert himself, improve himself, become self-actualized, i.e. self-develop. These mechanisms include self-acceptance and self-forecasting.

Begins the process of self-development of personality from the moment when a person, once wanting something, begins to think about how to achieve it, and what prevents him from taking the first steps. The interesting thing is that once having received a question, our brain is constantly looking for an answer to it, even without the participation of consciousness. It includes the process of self-development of the personality, which, willy-nilly, absorbs all the necessary information, the brain itself goes through all the possible options for solving the problem, and one day an insight comes. But this process is too complicated and long.

First of all, it also requires some motivation. And each person motivates himself, since personality development is a strictly individual process. But in any case, whatever the motivation, the process of self-development of the individual leads to the same thing - a change in the habitual thinking of a person, a change in attitude to the world, others and, of course, to oneself.

The process of personal self-development is difficult, long and painful, as one has to fight with one's own "I", which does not want to recognize and accept changes in life. But stopping on this path is also stupid, since the process immediately starts in the opposite direction and everything previously achieved loses its value and returns you to a dull and unpleasant past. The main thing is not to lose heart. Be sure that you can always meet a person on the path of self-development of a person who will help you, support you, and demand absolutely nothing in return.

Methods and stages of personal self-development

Many people know that these issues are more often dealt with by the psychology of self-development of the individual is within its competence. But in fact, the process of personal self-development can consist in various practices: meditation, faith, communication with other people, training, yoga, etc. But in any case, self-development of a person goes through several stages.

1. Getting to know your own "I", its features, as well as the search for ways to modify it. In this case, self-development of the individual helps not only to understand oneself and the world around, but also to discover the relationship with childhood traumas, fears and problems of today. After that, all the talents and abilities that had no way out before literally burst out.

2. Next step self-development of the individual is the reprogramming of one's own actions and behavior. This helps to turn sudden and unexpected success into the category of regular and permanent.

3. When such transformations become significant and become permanent, the world begins to play with new colors, and people treat you better and better.

What gives self-development of personality?

Self-development of personality opens up new perspectives in life and in dealing with people. Life itself becomes brighter and more fulfilling, and most importantly, it begins to shine with new facets. New opportunities, friends, horizons, ideas, thoughts appear. The process of personal self-development allows you to make the world around you more harmonious, kind and filled with energy.

Portal for the student. Self-training

The process of self-knowledge

I have some flaws

How would I like it to be

How to achieve the desired result

Steps to achieve the goal

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