Five Benefits of Personal Development From My Experience

The first time I stumbled upon the world of personal development (also known as self-help) was when I read the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. The exercises in the book helped me to realize that I can take action to shape my life the way I want. Since then, I’ve read many self-help books, attended live workshops, and online courses to further develop myself.

I’ve lost count of how much money I’ve spent studying personal development (although nowadays there are many resources you can use for free). I feel that there were times when I spent additional money on buying books and courses that I don’t read or finish. However, it’s a part of the journey, and I have no regrets about the time and money I’ve spent to learn about my self. I feel that it’s a worthy journey to experience despite the inefficiencies that I realized along the way.

My self-growth journey has been going on for almost twenty years, and I don’t plan to stop. I find that continuous personal development dramatically helps me to be successful in all areas of my life. That’s why I want to share the five benefits of personal development from my experience that may inspire you to develop your self too. These five benefits aren’t the only benefits of self-growth – but they make a great list of the advantages that personal growth can bring into your life.

1. Understand Your Strength and Weakness

The first benefit of learning self-development is that you know who you are. You learn about yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, and you can adjust your actions based on that information. Some people live their lives not being aware of their behavior, and that can bring disastrous accidents in your life. When you learn about yourself, you become self-aware, and you can see if you are using your strengths to its optimal potential to live the most fulfilling life.

The way I learn about my strengths and weaknesses is by doing personality tests. There are personality tests that are free, and there are paid ones. I’ve taken both free and paid tests, and I find that the paid tests give complete information than the free ones. However, taking free personality tests already provide a solid foundation to build an understanding of yourself and your capabilities.

The most simple personality test I found is based on the Four Temperaments theory. It’s the first test that I took, and I still use to this day, to identify myself and identify other people. It’s not a complete personality test, but it can give you a rough picture of your strengths and weaknesses. For example, I am a combination of choleric and melancholic according to this test. It means I am slightly weak when socializing with people, but I am strong when focusing on a task to get it done.

2. Be in Control of Your Time and Money

When you learn about yourself and grow your personality, you may find that you have dreams or goals that you haven’t reached or thought about. I learned from the teachings of Abraham Hicks that finding new dreams or goals is because you are in a new vantage point. You begin to see new opportunities and ideas that you wouldn’t have noticed if you never started developing your self.

Working on your dreams and goals means that you are in control of your time and money. You aren’t giving your precious time to build the ideas of another person (although you get paid to do that). If you are still building someone’s dream, you can take some time each morning to build your dream first. It’s not rare that you can stop working for someone else and spend all your time building your dream.

You also pay your self first. When you respect the time you spend, you also respect the money you spend. Having a level of self-awareness means that you will be able to avoid paying money for unnecessary items or possessions, and begin to put your money to good use for investing or expanding your experience.

I spent some time working for another person, but I eventually quit and started a business. I feel that starting a business is the natural evolution of paying your self first in time and money. It doesn’t have to be a big venture; it can be a small business or part-time business. When the business starts to become profitable, you gain more control of your time and money to spend as you see fit.

3. Experience Satisfaction Every Day

Once you begin to know your strength and find your new dreams or goals, you can feel satisfaction every day. You wake up feeling full of energy and enthusiastic about what you want to do today. Working on your goals and seeing that you get closer every day is an enriching experience.

Maybe you’ve seen life coaches on social media that seem so full of passion and enthusiasm. I know some people in real life that have the same level of excitement about what they do. They often hold positions where they can help other people become successful too. I’m sometimes envious that they have so much energy and live to the fullest as much as possible. I want to reach this level someday.

I admit I’m not at this level of satisfaction yet. I do experience some satisfaction, especially when I reach a goal I want. However, I don’t feel it every day, only on some good days. What I do feel each day is gratitude that I am in control of my time and money. I can choose what activities I want to do that day and work towards making my dreams come true.

4. Survive Through Tough Times

Personal development can help you to create a wonderful and fulfilling life, but I find that people start needing it when they are going through tough times. Maybe you have just broken up or got divorced from someone you loved. Perhaps you just got fired from your job, or your business isn’t making enough profit to sustain your family. Maybe you just got diagnosed with a disease that is serious and requires your full attention.

It’s rare that someone wants to be a better person when everything is going fine and smooth. It’s when difficulties arrive that you need to become a better person to solve the problems in your life. It’s during these moments that studying personal development returns the most significant rewards. You may or may not find an immediate solution to the problem, but you will become a more compassionate person.

I didn’t stumble upon personal development during a tough time, but I did use the techniques I learned when difficult times happened. I became disciplined and focused on what I needed to do, and I built new habits that were important for me to reach my goal. My primary challenge right now is money (not because of debt but I want to increase it), and I use self-help techniques to keep my mind calm and relaxed, so I can do the work necessary without procrastinating or feeling stuck.

5. Help Other People Around You

This benefit isn’t a benefit you would think about until it happens. When you understand your self, you can begin to understand other people. The success you’ve achieved will draw people closer to you, and they will ask you for help (whether they have good or bad intentions). They will see your enthusiasm and energy, and be motivated by you. Your triumph over adversity will inspire them to overcome their difficult situations in life.

I love helping other people but only when they ask me to help them. I find it’s a gratifying and satisfying experience. I didn’t set out to help other people, but I found out that my experience is very useful to guide other people who haven’t achieved what I’ve accomplished. The appreciation they give is rewarding in itself, but the highest reward for me is helping another person become successful.

Interestingly, the more people you help, the more successful you become. This law is called the Law of Affection (from the Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco). If you can help a million people, then you will become a millionaire! However, it’s difficult to help other people if you still need help yourself. That’s why personal development is very beneficial so that you can know your strengths, build your dreams, triumph over the challenges that you face, and become an inspiration to people around you.