For 1 day
it's much better to stay in your house and be in front of the computer instead
of meeting new people
Would
you agree with me if I said – for 1 day
it's much better to stay in your house and be in front of the computer instead
of meeting new people? Yes, you heard that right. I’ll stand firm to that
statement and I will tell you why.
We’re
well aware that most people these days spend their idle time either just
sleeping, playing video games, or doing FACEBOOK. In fact more and more people
these days spend most of their time
in front of the computer. Thank you so much Internet, we’re spending lesser and
lesser quality time with our families or meeting new people.
But
let me tell you this, we could in fact
make 1 day spending our time in front of the computer much more valuable than
going out there interacting with people. Have heard about the term Personal Development? Other people more
commonly call this Personal Growth
and you could read a bunch of books written about this topic including how to
develop Interpersonal/ Social Skills.
Now
you must be asking – how could you develop Interpersonal Skills and other
Personal Development skills by spending an entire one day with your computer
and internet instead of meeting or interacting with people? I have only one
answer to this. It’s gaining Knowledge.
Finding knowledge first on how to
relate better with others before
actual application of that knowledge proves to be more valuable, don’t you
think?
Have
you ever gone to an impromptu social gathering without knowing what to do or
even what to expect? Precisely. I bet you spent your whole time in that
gathering caught in awkward conversations or just sitting in a corner.
Wallflower. You wouldn’t have missed out on all the good opportunities open to
you as you speak with other great individuals if ONLY you KNEW what to say or how to project yourself. Now
you could just jump ahead and just talk away or “go with the flow” during these
instances. But that is just as good as running really fast but in reverse!
Do
you believe that first impressions last?
Whenever you meet new people, you can get to make a good lasting impression or
totally blow it. It’s a chance you can’t afford to miss or an irrevocable damage you wouldn’t want to get.
Wouldn’t
it be great to know just what to do or what to say so you can take advantage of
these situations? – This when the good side of the Internet comes in. We can
find all sorts of free information through the Internet these days, ranging
from how to train your dog to how to do the Harlem
Shake. Of course, we could also find good sources on how to develop your
social skills or interpersonal skills and how to achieve personal growth or
development, and who would have thought—you could find these information right
here!
I’m
not supposed to promote this site right
here on this page but I guess it helps to introduce to you all to what we
are about. As best we can we will try to provide you interesting if not
informative articles on how you can learn and practice the skills you need to help you improve your (social life) personal
and professional life. Are you very much aware of skills you need to make the
most of your everyday life? Whether you are an employee, job seeker, a student,
teacher, a dancer, rockstar, zoo keeper, juggler, MacGyver, or parent who wants
to develop your life skills - you
will find a wealth of information on Personal Growth or Personal Development right
here at... So
what can I say. Read around!
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How to
Develop a Balanced Self (Personal/ Intrapersonal
Development vs. Interpersonal
Development)
Have
you ever met a guy, or girl, who is so successful in his or her career and
other aspects of life but seem to be the biggest JERK? A complete *sshole, or a
b*tch. This is when you know the difference between personal development and interpersonal
development. Read on…
Basically,
Personal Development Skills are fundamental or key life skills you learn and
apply for self-preservation – such as
maintaining a healthy mind and body. These are personal empowerment skills you need to be able to set goals and
achieve your utmost potential in life (“success” so to speak.) Mainly, this
skill-set involves self-awareness or recognizing your strengths and weaknesses
so you can be able to make positive choices and the best decisions in life. Now
a lot of people are great in this aspect but not all of these “successful”
individuals are favored by society. Okay let’s take the best examples – Hitler,
or your mother-in-law, or other people like them. They may seem like very
accomplished individuals but do people really like them? Some – yes. But most?
– nah.
What
I mean is, your personal skills could get you ahead in life (and other people),
but your interpersonal skills or the skills you use to communicate and interact
well with people would still be your best tool to make your life more
meaningful.
For
instance, you can see the difference between a “Boss” (the terror type), and
the “Good Leader” (the charismatic one). The Boss is typically selfish and full
of pride while the Good Leader is selfless and prioritizes others. The Boss often
only thinks of self-preservation, while the Good Leader thinks about the
welfare of the entire group.
Both
Boss and Good Leader have strong personal skills (language/ communication
skills, decision making skills, etc.) but only the Good Leader has the most
effective interpersonal skills or people-skills a.k.a. social relationship
skills (intercommunication skills, and the capacity to empathize with others.)
Pity
Hitler or the Boss because they don’t have such very good people skills (they
must have relied only on manipulative/ brain-washing skills all their lives) and
they must have been very miserable indeed. Devoid of real happiness. “Forever
alone”. They only pleased themselves – trapped in their own selfish little
island.
On
the other hand a person with good interpersonal skills is usually perceived as
optimistic, confident, calm, and charismatic or overall appealing or pleasant to other people.
And
a person with good interpersonal skills is usually more successful in BOTH his/her professional and personal
life.
We
can draw the line between the importance of career versus social life. For
people who won’t budge, there IS a distinction between career and social life –
being successful in your job versus being happy in your relationships.
Are
you satisfied with your career but not with your personal or social life? Try
developing a balanced self.
Through
awareness and practicing control of how you interact with others you can
improve your interpersonal skill-set. Don’t be a Terrible Boss or a Hitler.
---
How Much
Do You Know Yourself? (Importance of Self-Awareness in Personal Development)
So
it took me awhile to write this post (honestly). I was thinking about the best
follow-up on the recent blog I wrote about the importance of pre-knowledge in achieving personal growth
or development. Very timely indeed because one of my friends shared something
on facebook – something about MBTI personality test.
Interesting enough, I took the test. I had fun answering the short quiz (about
myself) and you know what I discovered? – How important it is to have SELF-AWARENESS in enhancing your personality, or more or less one’s personal
development.
It
was really interesting and quite funny how I discovered this, because while I
was answering the quiz, I realized how difficult it is for me to answer some of
the questions. (The MBTI Test by the
way, stands for Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator Test. It’s a psychological test developed by Myers-Briggs in an
attempt to discover how people perceive their world and make decisions based
upon it.) Wasn’t I aware enough how I perceive the world around me, much less
accept it and be in total control of it? This totally bugged me. I realized the
issue was being genuinely aware of my
deepest thoughts, desires, goals, priorities…
You
ever sometimes feel you’re just going with the flow in your life? Now that I
realize it – there’s no growth in this! More specifically, no personal growth
or development. Without self-awareness,
you literally lose yourself. (I virtually lost myself answering the MBTI quiz.
Some of the questions drove me nuts! I couldn’t quite accept I was this type of person as suggested by the
questions. But good enough, I was still able to finish the test (with mostly
wise guesses – about myself, LOL) and somehow got good results. I discovered I
was an ENFP person, an “Inspirer”, or someone with an Extraversion Intuition Feeling Perceiving personality. I realized I had some strengths as well as
weaknesses having this type of personality, but the good thing is, now that I
know who I am, or now that I’m aware,
I can start my conscious effort to improve myself – to learn how to harness my
skills – to strive towards that thing called Personal Development.
Of
course once we realized and decided it’s the best idea to work on ourselves (first
before thinking about the bills, or impressing other people) then everything in
our lives will begin to fall in the right place... Our lives will become a lot
better than it once was…
“Know thyself” – according to the
greatest philosopher of all time, Socrates.
