Self-development and self-confidence

Important note

This article is considered one of the skills of positive psychology, which specializes in developing individual skills and knowledge for mentally healthy people. If you suffer from any psychological disorder, please do not try to evaluate yourself based on your ability to achieve or apply what will be mentioned in the article below.

If you notice a major challenge for you in applying some skills or difficulty in doing some of the mentioned tips, it may be an important sign so that you can stand with yourself and take an honest stand in evaluating the level of your mental health and remember that you can always resort to a specialist to help you.

The journey of self-development and self-confidence is one of the most important journeys a person can take in his life. It is a journey that leads to achieving satisfaction and stability on all levels. This journey begins with simple steps that require awareness and sincere intention, and continues with challenges that strengthen the will and develop the personality, until reaching the satisfactory result that is represented in improving the quality of life and feeling the value of simple achievements in your life.

Self-development and building self-confidence are terms that can be toxic and psychologically harmful, and they can also be a useful motivation for a better quality of life and better mental health. In this article, we will discuss both trends to provide each reader with the tools they need to differentiate between the harmful or beneficial use of the same terms.

: The concept of self-development and self-confidence in its toxic and harmful form

Self-development: is an ongoing process that includes acquiring new skills, improving abilities, developing talents, and acquiring knowledge, to achieve success and happiness.

Self-confidence: is a deep belief in one’s abilities and potential, a sense of satisfaction with oneself, and the ability to achieve one’s dreams and goals.

The concept of self-development and self-confidence in its useful and healthy form

Self-development: It is the basis for the growth of all living beings. Everything we experience in our lives increases our experiences and knowledge. Therefore, even the simplest things, such as getting enough sleep the night before, are part of your growth and self-development, not just learning new skills constantly. Sometimes, the concept of healthy self-development is summarized in developing old skills that we possess or taking a break from the pressures of life. When we have awareness, we can increase the beneficial experiences in our lives and reduce the experiences that harm us.

Self-confidence: It is having a sufficient amount of self-esteem, meaning that we see ourselves without negative judgments or excessive glorification, so we acknowledge our humanity and weakness, and at the same time we take responsibility for our lives without blaming ourselves for what came before. Whatever the reason for your arrival to the place you are in today, getting out of it is your responsibility because you deserve a better quality of life. This does not mean being confident in yourself all the time in front of all people. There are many creative people throughout history who had a severe weakness in their self-confidence in the common sense of the term, but they changed the course of history by cooperating with others. A person who is confident in himself will not try to succeed in everything, but will do what he can with what he has and ask for help from those around him when he needs it.

: The importance of developing oneself and self-confidence in a useful and healthy way compared to the traditional harmful and toxic way

Achieving success: Self-confidence helps in achieving goals and reaching success in various areas of life, whether on a personal or professional level. (Poisonous and harmful)

(Useful and healthy) –< The truth is that success is very relative. Perhaps for me, success is a happy family and my children playing and drawing on the walls of the house. For another, happiness is in the success of work regardless of his family. For another, success is in fame and being known by many people. The important thing is that your self-confidence helps you achieve what you see as adding meaning to your life and not to follow a pre-determined measure from society under the name of success. The result will often be job burnout and a feeling of frustration.

Personal growth: Self-development leads to personal growth by expanding knowledge, improving skills, and enhancing positive thinking. It can enable individuals to become more self-aware, set meaningful goals, and work toward their aspirations. (Toxic and Harmful)

(Healthy and Beneficial) –< The truth is that personal growth occurs from birth and often occurs without the intervention of our free will. A person can grow up in an environment that encourages fear of the unknown and lack of adventure, and thus become anxious and tense. Here, growth has actually occurred. It may be beneficial to a person if they are in a society that rewards those anxious and avoidant traits, and it may be harmful to a person if they are in a society that punishes those same traits. So the basic idea is not in personal growth or lack thereof, but rather in the direction of growth itself and whether this growth is consistent with the individual’s and society’s vision of himself or not, and whether it is beneficial to the person himself in this environment or not

Feeling happy: Self-confidence enhances the feeling of self-satisfaction and happiness, and reduces anxiety and depression. (Toxic and harmful)

(Useful and healthy) –< The truth is that anxiety and depression are diseases that affect humans and have complex causes that we discuss in the article on depression and anxiety. They are not related to their financial level, nor their feelings about themselves in the past, nor even their level of religiosity. Therefore, it is better for us to see the relativity of happiness in life and not in the belief that a self-confident person will not suffer from a disease such as depression, but a conscious person will notice the symptoms of these diseases, whether in himself or in those around him, and will seek help

Professional success: Continuous self-development is crucial to professional success. It allows individuals to stay informed of industry trends, develop new skills, and adapt to changing job requirements. It also enhances leadership abilities, communication skills and decision-making. (Useful and healthy if applied in the workplace only)

Improving relationships: Self-confidence helps build strong relationships with others, and enhances effective communication. (Toxic and harmful)

(Useful and healthy) –< The truth is that building strong relationships does not depend on a person’s self-confidence, but rather on his level of self-awareness, his value, his appreciation of the feelings of others and his ability to choose the right people to build healthy relationships with