Contents
Personality develops in activity when there are necessary conditions and prerequisites for this. Biological prerequisites are human genetics that determine growth, maturation, activity, response and behavior. Conditions for development are social and cultural environments that help or hinder development. In the village, a village boy develops, in Eton, an Eton graduate. On the basis of this, the orientation of the personality is formed, including in
A child does not grow in an airless space, and with any of its soil and with any of its seeds, attentive gardeners take care of its soil (well, they can take care of it), changing its composition. Attentive gardeners have the opportunity to plant crop seeds in the soil in time, and even if they are overgrown with burdock, weed the soil. A child is not one seed from which everything grows in a given way, but rather a soil with various seeds. On this soil, with already existing seeds (congenital beginnings in the child), other seeds (cultural beginning) can also fall. Something comes by chance, something thanks to the efforts of gardeners: parents and teachers instill in the child the best seeds of human culture. The child does not grow alone, but in an ecosystem. In this view, the development of the child is set not only from the inside, it can also be launched from the outside, in the case of the natural introduction of seeds from the general cultural environment or the conscious work of the gardener: parents and teachers.
Personality formation is always a process shared between a child and an adult. The smaller the role of a cultured adult, the greater the role of the child’s body, primarily its genes and instincts. The stronger the cultural, educative influence of an adult, the greater the influence of the soul — at first the soul of an adult, and then, when it saturates the soil of a child, this is already the influence of the soul of the child himself.
Origins and paths of personality development
From where or with the help of what, in what ways does a personality develop? The main paths are:
- The game — initially directed from the outside, later launched independently;
- Case. At first, joint business with someone, later independent;
- Study or training. First they teach us, then we can teach ourselves;
- Physical development. The possibility of his development as a person is recorded in the human body. The body determines our interests and our values, it imprints our character on us, it records what our vocation is and whether we can have it at all. The body, clogged with clamps and twisted by depression, interferes with development. If we want to develop our own or someone else’s personality, we must begin with the development of the body.
- Resolution of internal contradictions. Up to a certain age, each transition to a new stage of personality development is often at the same time a personal crisis. As for the life of an adult, the process of his growth and development can go in a completely healthy way, without being accompanied by personality crises. See →
- Inner work. Awareness, analysis, decision-making, their implementation.
These paths require mastering (encouragement to master) new roles, require the acquisition of new knowledge, the development of new skills and abilities, and these new knowledge, skills, skills and roles provide them. On the other hand, certain knowledge, skills, abilities and roles are necessary prerequisites for all of these paths.
The baby will not participate in KVN, he still does not know how to talk.
Internal and external prerequisites for personality development
More often, the source of development is something external — the upbringing of parents, the influence of the environment, the requirements of professional growth, the challenges of life, but without internal conditions and sources, personal development is impossible.
- Internal conditions and sources — personal health, providing passive personal growth and an internal desire to develop oneself (in particular, the need for self-actualization), expressed in active personal growth.
- External conditions and sources — support and exactingness. See Maternal and Paternal Models of Love
And the reality is interesting because these sources are not always of high quality and often conflict with each other.
Think for yourself or listen to smart people?
The development of a child is impossible without a social environment, but the quality of this environment varies, and often, at a certain stage, the same social environment (for example, a dysfunctional family, an unsuccessful school, stupid friends) ceases to contribute to development, or even begin to directly hinder.
Conventional notions of popular culture and tired, confused, short-sighted and frightened parents are not the best conditions for personal development.
In comparison with this, with such sources of external influence, a spontaneous child, a peering teenager and a young person who believes in himself, coming from himself, critically perceiving influences from outside, are sources of freedom and development.
When there are stupid people nearby, think for yourself.
In smart societies and good parents, the situation is different. If the content of the settings of the environment, family or public, is positive, constructive, freedom and development, wisdom and personal responsibility, then in this case an obedient child, teenager or young person, next to adults who are authoritative for him, has at least the possibility of a good start. In such a situation, listening to others is better, more promising than relying on your own head.
When smart people are nearby, and your head is not working reliably, listen to smart people, and they will teach you to turn on your head and think for yourself. See →
Personal Development Motivation
If a person develops on positive motivation and is inclined to a positive worldview, personal growth and development are not accompanied by negative experiences and neurotic reactions.
The former development option has been exhausted. Great! Looking for new options.
If a person develops on negative motivation and is prone to a negative worldview, personal development almost always begins to be accompanied by mental illness, and the onset of a personal crisis develops into a psychological crisis. As a psychological crisis, a personality crisis is already disharmony in a person’s mental life (and, as a result, in his life as a whole), it is a continuing neurotic state (specifically, dissatisfaction with oneself and life), impulsive life decisions that are characteristic of a human child.