Personal growth

I can't believe i finished this in an hour.
It was hard to keep everything under 1100 words!
I really should spend more time making this longer and longer...
hehehe

TJ

“In order to experience personal growth, one must first learn to conquer ones fears.”

Fear: Dread, fright, horror, panic, terror. To be afraid of somebody or something.

A person’s character is largely affected by past experiences throughout one’s life. All experiences contribute to building upon a person’s character and state of mind. Some experiences are far more effective in changing a person’s character compared to others however the majority of these “character building” experiences are related to fearful, traumatic or frightening experiences. Such experiences differ in intensity according to how significant the experience is to the particular person subjected to the experiences. Although fear seems to make up the majority of highly significant character changes in people, there are also experiences that trigger different emotions in people that also contribute to personal growth. These experiences include accomplishment, happiness, loss and many more. A very common fear shared amongst people of all ages, races and sexes is the fear of being alone. This common fear involves the fear of losing loved ones, memories and possessions. Another common fear is the fear of death. It is inevitable that everyone will pass on sooner or later. Many believe in Heaven and Hell and fear that they will be sent to Hell in the after-life, people fear having to leave kids behind or fear that after life, there is nothing but emptiness for those who do not believe in Heaven or Hell.

Personal growth is largely affected by past experiences a person has undergone. Hence the saying “Learning from your mistakes” personal growth is essentially learning from past experiences and improving on how to deal with these experiences the “next time round”. There are many experiences people undergo throughout their lives. Many of these experiences are insignificant and mean almost nothing after a short period of time. However there are a handful of experiences that directly affect a person’s character and way of life, the way they perceive and react to certain situations in life after these certain character building experiences. Unfortunately, a majority of these experiences are traumatic or fearful.

One “character building” experience everyone has to undergo is death. Death is inevitable; however dealing with the death of a loved one is always hard and depressing. After a traumatic experience such as having lost a loved one, grief almost inevitably finds its way into any person. However even in such dark and depressing situations, personal growth is always involved. People find themselves “stronger” and much more capable of dealing with the death of another loved one after a period of time. Although personal growth is, in an enlarged view, the ability to learn from past experiences and to grow and move forward with a better understanding of life and particular experiences people have experienced and grown from. Personal growth can affect people in many different ways. Some people learn from the death of a loved one, and continue to live life with a better understanding of life and death. People become “tougher” and tend to accept that everyone has their time to go. However in many cases, this does not mean that they will be any less emotional losing another loved one. Isaac Asimov says “If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” This shows that, in times where one’s own death is imminent. People have two main choices to choose from. One is to brood and worry about not being able to spend enough time with loved ones and not being able to fully enjoy life and its pleasures. The second choice is to enjoy what is left of life. As Florynce Kennedy says “I think we should look forward to death more than we do. Of course everybody hates to go to bed or miss anything but dying is really the only chance we'll get to rest.”

Another main experience almost everyone has to undergo is to lose a lover. It is human nature to find a mate and to pursue happiness together. Love is an intense and extremely strong bond usually between two people, in this case, a male and a female. People tend to react to the loss of lover due to separation similarly to losing a loved one to death. The feeling of loss and being alone usually overcomes either one or both parties commonly leaving them in tears and feeling very depressed. However, after a long period of time, people tend to “get back up on their feet” and to “move on”, usually finding their way into another loving relationship with another person. The people who experience separation with their lovers usually find themselves stronger and “wiser” after overcoming the feelings of loss and loneliness. However, there are also negative points in this case of personal growth. There are people who find themselves less trusting or less capable of pursuing a loving relationship. It is only natural to reminisce about a past lover; however this hinders the ability for a person to find a new love. People find it harder to commit to a relationship and it usually requires years before being “ready” to find another suitable lover and to commit to a long term relationship. This traumatic experience also includes marriage and the separation of husbands and wives. Benjamin Franklin says “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” This shows that with persistence and energy, people can overcome even the toughest of times and find “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Although both experiences stated above are traumatic and usually depressing towards many people. There are also experiences in life that the majority of people undergo that are not necessarily traumatic at all. A very common example of this is the experience of unity and love shared between people. This includes friends, family and lovers. Franklin P. Jones says “Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” This clearly states that to find love within friends, family and lovers is definitely an important part of life, and one that usually “makes” a person just as Ivan Minic says “To Love is to Live.” People experience both new found love and on-going love throughout their lives at least once. To the majority of people, finding “love” has been the most rewarding experience that has brought them the most happiness. Being in love, or finding new love, has its own personal growth traits. People usually find themselves much happier and content with their lives, knowing that there are people that love and cherish them.

Although there are many different experiences in life that contribute to personal growth, it is definitely agreeable that traumatic experiences provide the most “eye-opening” experiences during a person’s life. I quote the movie Lion King, “The circle of life” and also Isaac Newton “What goes up, must come down.” This shows that in life, there are happy and positive character building experiences; however with happiness comes sadness as a companion. With love, there is loss of love and with life, comes death.

“What we learned here is love tastes bitter when it’s gone.” Rob Thomas.