Who are the personal development books for? Can we say that these aim to improve the mental health of any individual?

For Lacroix, personal development concerns mentally healthy individuals, which de facto dissociates it from psychotherapies. Psychotherapies are devoted to the process of “healing”, the other seeks to trigger a dynamic of “maturation”.

In other words, personal development is not for the “sick” but for those who seek fulfillment.

So what does the notion of “mental health” cover? Jahoda characterizes mental health by 6 drafts different : 

• the attitude of the individual towards himself;
• the style and degree of self-development, growth or actualization;
• integration of psychological functions;
• autonomy;
• an adequate perception of reality;
• control of the environment.

Personal development would cover another concept called “self-actualization”, according to the work in 1998 by Leclerc, Lefrançois, Dubé, Hébert and Gaulin and which one could rather call ” self-achievement ».

36 indicators of self-fulfillment were identified at the end of this work, and divided into 3 categories. 

Openness to experience

According to these works, people in the process of self-fulfillment….

1. Are aware of their feelings

2. Have a realistic perception of themselves

3. Trust their own organization

4. Are capable of awareness

5. Are able to accept conflicting feelings

6. Are open to change

7. Are aware of their strengths and weaknesses

8. Are capable of empathy

9. Are able to not be preoccupied with themselves

10. Live in the moment

11. Have a positive perception of human life

12. Accept themselves as they are

13. Have a positive perception of the human being

14. Are capable of spontaneous reactions

15. Are capable of intimate contact

16. Give meaning to life

17. Are capable of engagement

Self-reference

People in the process of self-fulfillment….

1. See themselves as responsible for their own lives

2. Accept responsibility for their actions

3. Accept the consequences of their choices

4. Act according to their convictions and values

5. Are able to resist undue social pressures

6. Feel free to express their opinions

7. Enjoy thinking for themselves

8. Behave in an authentic and congruent manner

9. Have a strong sense of ethics

10. Are not paralyzed by the judgment of others

11. Feel free to express their emotions

12. Use personal criteria to self-assess

13. Are able to break out of established frameworks

14. Have positive self-esteem

15. Give meaning to their life

Openness to experience and reference to oneself

People in the process of self-fulfillment….

1. Maintain contact with themselves and the other person when communicating

2. Can face failure

3. Are able to establish serious relationships

4. Seek relationships based on mutual respect

Personal development Very largely coincides with the notion of individuation, this process which consists in differentiating oneself at all costs from the archetypes of the collective unconscious. According to psychologist Jung, individuation is “self-realization, in what is most personal and most rebellious to all comparison”, in other words … personal development. 

Personal development seeks to increase the quantity and quality of positive emotions. However, Fredrickson and his team have shown that:

• positive emotions extend the field of vision and cognitive abilities;
• positivity puts us on an upward spiral: positive emotions, personal and professional success, always more positivity;
• positive emotions increase the sense of inclusion and belonging;
• positive emotions facilitate the expansion of consciousness and a sense of oneness with the whole life
• positive emotions not only drive away negative emotions, but they also restore physiological balance. They would play a reset role (like a “reset” button).

For researcher Csikszentmihalyi, personal development also serves to raise the coherence, order and degree of organization in our consciousness. It would be able to reorganize our attention and free us from collective influence, be it cultural, genetic or environmental.

He also talks about the importance of “being in the flow” in the sense of adopting a certain attitude when engaging in one’s activities. To achieve this, it would be necessary in particular that:

1. The objectives are clear

2. Feedback is thoughtful and relevant

3. Challenges in line with capacities

4. The individual is fully focused on the task at hand, in the present moment and in full awareness.

This way of experiencing “the flow” in his work, his relationships, his family life, his passions, would make him less dependent on the external rewards which motivate others to be satisfied with a routine and meaningless daily life. “At the same time, he is more involved in everything that surrounds him because he is fully invested in the flow of life,” says Csikszentmihalyi.

For some authors, not only does personal development not serve as a cure, but in addition it would above all have the objective of optimizing, intensifying, and maximizing. Robert Redeker is one of these critical authors: “ [personal development] fosters the culture of results; the value of a man is therefore measured by the tangible results which, in the generalized competition and the war of each against each, he achieves. »

For him, it would only be a list of pseudo-techniques, ” nonsense , Of ” colorful bazaar of superstitions “Whose (hidden) goal would be to push to its maximum the potential of its” customers “. Michel Lacroix also adopts this point of view: “ Personal development is in perfect resonance with the culture of the unlimited which is spreading today, and which is illustrated by sporting exploits, doping, scientific or medical prowess, concern for physical fitness, the desire to longevity, drugs, belief in reincarnation “. It is the idea of ​​limitation, which has become unbearable for contemporary men, which would be responsible for its planetary success. 

« Every organism is a melody that sings itself. ” Maurice Merleau-Ponty