According to Wikipedia, self improvement refers to self-guided improvement economically, intellectually, or emotionally - most frequently with a substantial psychological or spiritual basis.
More simply put, self or personal development refers to the development of one’s self in one or more aspects, but very often linked with increasing self-esteem, having more confidence, and becoming more effective as the basis for improvement.
As Steven Covey, author of the seminal book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” says: “with the dizzying rate of change in technology and increasing competition driven by the globalization of markets and technology, we must not only be educated, we must constantly re-educate and reinvent ourselves.” At different points in life, we all tend to lull into an artificial sense of security and/or personal stagnation. Challenge yourself to be better and more effective – re-educate and reinvent yourself to adapt to the rapidly changing environment.
There is such a plethora of online resources for personal development that you can get lost in cyberspace just looking for a definition or reading a relevant article. Here is our list of recommended resources to help you fast-track through your personal development journey. Click on the following images or text links to know more.
1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Steven R Covey has sold more than 15 million copies of this phenomenal, life-changing book. Just looking at the 7 Habits and thinking about them already make a lot of sense. Steven Covey doesn’t claim to have invented them, but identified and organized them into a sequential framework.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the saw
If you practice the 7 habits diligently everyday, you will already see an improvement in your life. Habit 1 teaches you to actively seek out what you want and the things you want to achieve, while Habit 2 and 3 talks about having personal goals and prioritising them so that you have an end-point in mind. Habit 4 teaches us to think of life not as a game, a race, a competition to win, but to achieve greatness through the abundant mind that works selflessly, with mutual respect, for mutual benefit. Habit 5 reminds us of the importance of being a good listener. Habit 6 is about thinking and acting synergistically for creative cooperation (win/win for all parties), which is a higher level than compromise. Finally, Habit 7 is about putting into practice consistently to become more effective.
In a complex, stressful, demanding and rapidly changing world, these 7 habits remain applicable.
2. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
Once you’ve become closely acquainted with the 7 Habits and are ready for more, here’s another: Covey's latest book - The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, the sequel to The Seven Habits. Covey claims that effectiveness does not suffice in what he calls "The Knowledge Worker Age" – so the eighth habit is to "Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs".
Free ebooks
7 Keys to Success
Take a look into this free ebook for some easy reading tips into improving yourself. Being committed, having an open mind and being persistent are just a few of the traits recommended.
Unshakeable self-confidence
Need more self-confidence? This free ebook talks about connecting with your “inner power” – becoming acquainted with your inner-self. Once you have done that, you start to be able to honour your strengths, the things you are naturally good at. The book then continues teaching you methods to affirm your abilities, trust yourself, expand your vision, and getting what you deserve to become what you desire. A quick read with simple tasks to develop yourself.
Acres of Diamonds
This book originated from a speech given by Russell H Conwell (1843 to 1925), who was an American Baptist minister and founder of Temple University in Philadelphia.
It was later published as a book; and is still a classic Self- Improvement text.
How to Raise Your Self-Esteem
Are you one of those suffering from low self-esteem? Though many people who suffer from it choose to accept it, the problems are much more far-reaching and affects many aspects of your life.
Find out how you can raise your self-esteem here.
Your Personal Excellence
Whenever you are working to achieve something, great effort put into achieving it often brings far better results. Some people do not give their best as they do not think that they can achieve more that what they have already done.
Learn how to apply your own personal excellence in whatever you do.
Single-Minded Focus
Do you have a problem trying very hard to focus on completing a task? If yes, this ebook is just for you!
As a Man Thinketh
In this ebook, the man's mind is said to be akin to a garden, which can be cultivated or run wild. If useless seeds are planted in it, it will produce useless weed-seeds and continue to produce more of the same. A man needs to cultivate his mind, just like a garden, so that useless thoughts can be weeded out; useful and pure thoughts can flourish.
This website gives you instant access to hundreds of experts online, with a price per minute charge. For example, you can have access to a range of professional counsellors and medical doctors for an online chat at a price of, for example, $1.79 per minute. Prices range between $1.50 and $3.00.
This translates into $107.40 for an hour’s worth of professional advice, which might sound like a lot of money at first, but if you consider that you are sat in the comforts of your own home it might be well worth your while. In addition, you can choose the preferred duration of your session, and end it whenever you like. If you do actually go to see a professional at their office, they usually charge for a full hour regardless so this is already a cost-effective method.
How to choose an expert? Well the site uses an easy to understand 5-star rating, as well as the number of reviews the expert has below it. Reviews are given by previous customers and you can also read their comments before deciding.
Landmark's method positions itself as different from standard educational methods – instead of remembering concepts and figuring out how to apply them, it leaves you applying what you learned naturally and without effort. In Landmark's programs you learn by direct personal discovery, dealing in context (the frameworks) in which content can exist. Contextual learning is generally good because this is a useful memory technique, for example, its easier to recall how a particular person looks if you think about a particular situation (context) in which you have seen that person. Another useful session would be techniques to forget the past – leaving the past behind helps you to develop a new sense of focus.
The Landmark Forum takes place over three consecutive days (usually over a weekend) followed by an evening session. Costs range from $485 to $650 depending on location.
3. Browse through wide range of products in our PIH InfoMart or search for relevant books in our PIH Bookshop.
You can also find more resources and information in our "Additional Resources" page.
