\u201cThe privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. \u201c Carl Jung<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we may seldom ask this crucial question: Am I too busy to grow?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Our personal growth\u2014the self-actualization of unique personality\u200a\u2014\u200ais among the preeminent purposes of life. Staying busy may develop our \u201cresume virtues\u201d but self-actualization develops our \u201ceulogy virtues\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Authentic personal growth is the process of becoming who we were born to become. Maslow referred to personal growth as self-actualization. Carl Jung called it individuation, and individuation, for Jung is the \u201cthe privilege of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Becoming Whole<\/strong>
\nMost of us are born to a kind of one-sidedness; we are gifted in certain directions. For example, we might be more oriented to an introverted or extraverted approach to life, or more oriented to the heart than the head, or more oriented to physical exploration than imagination. Each of these orientations is available to all of us, yet we tend to favor a few over others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
With personal growth\u200a\u2014\u200athe individuation of unique personality\u200a\u2014\u200aall orientations become more available. A one-sided life is limiting and inhibits the full expression of a unified personality. Staying busy\u200a\u2014\u200aavoiding opportunities for growth, attending exclusively to a one-sided life\u200a\u2014\u200acan impede the growth and development of the fully developed person we were born to become.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The benefits of personal growth are many: With individuation, we gain new awareness and perspectives to more smoothly navigate life\u2019s many challenges; we gain greater tact and tolerance; we gain increased self-awareness and a deeper sense of purpose; we become better listeners, communicators, and empathetic individuals; we gain more meaningful connections with others.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Finding Balance<\/strong>
\nThe challenge is to find balance. How do we stay actively engaged in a busy life and attend to personal growth?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
We can learn to pay attention to the clues we are getting all day long. For example, we may notice that we admire someone we just met for certain attributes\u200a\u2014\u200amaybe someone is especially friendly and welcoming, or especially attentive to practical facts. These can be clues\u200a\u2014\u200aindications of what we are being called to grow toward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We can stop to consider what feels missing in our busy lives. Those feelings can lead us to attend to what needs to be included more fully\u200a\u2014\u200aperhaps reading, or intimate conversations with others, or engaging in sports, or attending concerts. There seems to be a kind of quiet \u201cvoice\u201d within us that informs us of what is absent\u200a\u2014\u200awhat void needs filling.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We may develop what David Brooks calls \u201cresume virtues\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aachievements, awards, positions, advancement. But far more important are what he calls the \u201ceulogy virtues\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200athe enduring and permanent qualities of who we are becoming. Who we are becoming is far more significant, both for ourselves and for others, than what we have accomplished. And as we individuate and become the authentic individual we were born to become, the achievements arrive more effortlessly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The pace of modern life is not slowing down. But we cannot allow that pace to be our master. It may seem that what we are doing or accomplishing may be preeminently significant. But what we are doing is temporal, while who we are becoming can be eternal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
J. G. Johnston<\/strong> is author of The Way\u200a\u2014\u200aThe Religion of Jesus Before Christianity, The Call Within\u200a\u2014\u200aNavigating Life With Inner Guidance, and Jung\u2019s Indispensable Compass\u200a\u2014\u200aNavigating the Dynamics of Psychological Types<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. \u201c Carl Jung Amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we may<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-well-being"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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