Training session “Self-realization in creativity as a way to strengthen psychological health”

Components of success in self-realization

Psychologist S. Maddi conducted extensive research and built on their basis a theory of personality that has the makings of realizing one’s own potential. Among the characteristics of a fully functioning individual, he cited the following:

1. Availability of creative potential.
2. Feeling of independent control of life.
3. Possession of free will and action in all life situations.
4. Spontaneous decision making in different environments.
5. High level of adaptability, increased mobility.

These characteristics in themselves do not guarantee self-realization. According to many psychologists, it is not so much innate qualities that are important as acquired ones. A special role in setting on the path to realizing an individual’s potential is played by self-confidence, purposefulness, determination, healthy passion, love of work and awareness of the goal. In addition, such a person must be able to quickly select, change and supplement strategies, adapt to changing conditions and change tactics if necessary, but at the same time remain sober and calm.

Some look at the problem of self-realization from the point of view of humanistic psychology, while others rely on religious dogmas about the presence of a soul in every person. What support and basis to choose for starting to move towards realizing your own potential is a strictly individual question. Nevertheless, it is known that regardless of the fulcrum, the successful application of knowledge and skills in the areas chosen by the individual for self-realization is an invariable component of finding happiness in life.

How to realize yourself

If you want to receive recognition and money through your talents, you need to understand how you can benefit people through your purpose and life’s work. This is the key point. If your talents do not benefit people, you will not receive recognition and money as a symbol of realizing your destiny. Now I do not take into account receiving recognition and money as a manifestation of pride and superiority over other people, but as manifestations of my destiny and a gift from the Universe as a sign of the right path.

For example, I love making products in the style of root plastics, but it doesn’t bring in money, and I do it only for the soul. I really like to share my work and experience in the field of self-development. I do this on this blog, The Space of Inner Strength. Here I receive the money that I earned as gratitude from site visitors. This is exactly the type of activity that helps me not only get my life’s work, but also income as a measure of people’s gratitude for my work and the benefits I bring to people.

In the material world you need to look for opportunities to earn money, otherwise you will have to go into the forest and be a hermit. Of course, earnings should be based on a person's talents. Those who feel that they need to completely free themselves from the influence of money in this incarnation become hermits or go to a monastery.

To realize yourself, you need to take several steps.

Algorithm: how to realize yourself and how to find your purpose in life, your life’s work.

1. Find your favorite thing and understand how through it you will benefit people. How will you help people solve their problems? There is no benefit to people, no money, no recognition, no business of your own that would feed you and bring you joy and satisfaction.
2. The second step is to find the people who do this job best.
3. Learn from these people. You need to learn only from the best and then the results will be the best, and not like everyone else.
4. Start doing this business and hone your skills. The goal is to become the best in your field.
5. Move to a professional level in your business and realize yourself in it 100%. Here you can go in 2 ways. 1 – do what you love yourself, 2 – teach it to other people.

This algorithm will allow you to find yourself, find your purpose in life, reveal your talents and become a happy person who will always have money and recognition.

Think about what you can do with your soul, and what benefit you can bring to people. This will be the first step towards realizing your talent. Find and read books on how to become an expert in your field.

At the 4th step, when you begin to do your job and hone your skills, a routine begins. Every day you need to learn and improve your level. Most people “merge” at this step, because... Not everyone can overcome routine. It turns out that the most difficult thing is not to find your purpose, your purpose in life, but to become a professional in your field.

Become a value to people

After you have become a professional in your field, you need to become an asset to people. To develop this level, it is recommended to provide the first 50 services in your direction for free.

Here you will practically raise your professional level and begin to receive clients and fame. Free services in your business of life will give grateful clients and its promotion in the market.

By going through the steps in this material, you can not only find yourself, your purpose in life, but also realize yourself as an individual and fully demonstrate your talents.

Your talents are endowed by God, and finding your purpose and persevering in discovering your talents is a vital necessity for every person.

I wish you to be a creative person who feels his purpose and benefits people!

Types of self-realization

Man is a social being, so he always actualizes his abilities in society. For this reason, it is wrong to consider the problem of self-realization in isolation from other people. There are several main types of self-actualization:

1. Personal;
2. Creative;
3. Professional;
4. Social.

Self-realization is not an easy process

Important! Each of these species is closely related to the others. A person needs to develop in all directions

In many ways, the foundation of the growth process is laid in childhood; in adulthood, the individual is able to determine his own behavior.

Personal self-realization

A person’s personality begins to form in childhood. It was then that the question of personal fulfillment first appeared. The child wants others to approve of his actions. With age, this desire becomes even stronger, which leads to success or, conversely, complexes.

It all depends on the dominant motivation: positive or negative. If a person is not afraid of losing something or being judged by others, then he has a much greater chance of achieving success.

The path to your dream is not easy

If the motivation is positive, a person can choose one of the following target tendencies directly related to the personality:

1. The desire for financial well-being;
2. Achieving high social status;
3. Development of your abilities.

Important! In practice, one of these tendencies turns out to be dominant, but each of them determines the others. For example, well-developed skills increase the likelihood of earning money, just as high social status is associated with decent income

An example of personal self-realization is when in pedagogy a student, under the influence of a teacher, forms the necessary qualities.

Creative self-realization

The desire to create something new is closely related to the development of humanity. All masterpieces created by people, achievements in science are due to the desire to create. The Bible says that man is created in the image and likeness of God. You may not believe in God, but if He exists, then creativity is really what a person has in common with higher powers.

Thus, creative self-realization of the individual is an important internal component of human life. Statistically, creative people are more successful than those who act in a stereotypical manner.

This is especially true in the 21st century, a time of rapid technological development.

Creativity is the most important quality for developing a broad outlook

The important thing is that every person has creative abilities to one degree or another. Only the manifestations of the creative act change: these are poetry, prose, painting, sculpture and many other ways to realize oneself

Everyone can find something to their liking.

Professional self-realization

Professional self-realization is unlocking your potential at work. Success in building a career is also valuable for a fulfilling life. Here the reason lies not only in money and increased social status. It is much more important to feel approval from others.

Climbing the career ladder

Important! Work is only a part of life; it cannot replace other types of fulfillment. Workaholism harms a person because in the pursuit of money and status, he loses everything else

Social self-realization

This is the realization of one's potential in the society in which a person belongs. This is precisely the highest level, as Maslow said.

How to find your life's work

The next step is to find your life’s work, your purpose, your purpose in life. I’ll say right away that the purpose, the work of life, can change from time to time, or it can be constant. Perhaps now a person’s job is to consciously benefit the enterprise, in a year his life’s work will be to open his own business, and in 10 years, his purpose will be to serve people, and the business will need to be closed. Sometimes a person's purpose lies in one area throughout his life.

How to find your life's work at the moment? Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not. Perhaps a person, immersed in his real or childhood feelings, will immediately understand his purpose and find his business.

But it may also be that feelings will only show the general direction in which to move. For example, creativity. But painting, being a hairdresser or the art of owning a business is also all creativity. Even when washing dishes, you can use creativity.

Here, based on feelings, you need to start new directions in life, and try different options based on the feelings of the soul. We got busy with one thing, didn’t like something, confusion appeared in our feelings, and abandoned it. We started another business, our feelings became confused, and we gave up. After doing this several times, your intuition will increase significantly, and you will begin to feel the work of life. Through a series of mistakes and failures you will reach your destiny.

Of course, this method is not for everyone. Quitting what you are doing now in an attempt to start your own business, and there are no guarantees, is certainly not suitable for weak people. To make it easier to walk this path and find your business from the first attempts, we move on to the next step.

How to understand your talents

To find your purpose, your life's work, you need to understand your talents.

People often think that not everyone has talents, but this is not true.

Absolutely every person has his own talents, endowed by God, and the task of a person is to find and reveal them.

Exactly what you are drawn to, what you like, and in what area you seek information for a feeling of satisfaction, is where your talents are hidden and need to be revealed.

Everything ingenious is simple. Your deepest desires show you your talents. Finding yourself, your purpose in life is finding your talents. Now that you understand how to look for talent, you can find your own business and move on to realizing yourself.

What hinders the self-realization of youth

Here are some of the most basic problems of youth self-realization

Inconsistency with social requirements

It’s unlikely that anyone in childhood dreams of becoming a successful plumber or loader. Everyone wants to be astronauts and flight attendants, pilots and ballerinas. But over time, a person realizes that it is not always possible to realize dreams. Society does not need millions of dancers and actresses; preference is given to professions in the field of science, physical labor or engineering. The first problem of personal self-realization is the discrepancy between the desired and the actual. You have to make a choice between your childhood dream and a profession that is more prestigious and profitable. But often young people do not understand that they can realize themselves not only in their career. Self-realization is the totality of all areas of life, such as creativity, hobbies, family, environment and the like. It turns out that today’s youth, for the most part, prefer to choose a profession that is more profitable, but for which they have absolutely no heart. Of course, therefore, the opportunity to realize oneself in the labor field in this case is extremely small.

Lack of social requirements

The overwhelming majority of young people in the modern world are aimed at earning a good income. But mastering a profession and hard work are not part of the plans of young people. The lack of work incentive primarily arises due to the lack of prospects for future life; the individual does not see the point in making efforts. Such qualities as laziness, passivity, lack of initiative begin to predominate, and a feeling of hopelessness arises, which can lead to stress and personal conflicts of the individual.

Lack of social references

The younger generation sometimes does not have time to adapt to such a rapidly changing society. The experience of the past and the modernization of society are sometimes so different from each other, and these changes occur in a short period of time, that they introduce a certain dissonance into the fragile consciousness of the younger generation

Young people lack social guidelines, because what was important for the previous generation is rapidly losing its value within the framework of urbanization and modernization of the modern world. Therefore, the further choice of the goal and path of youth begins to be determined by the circumstances and requirements of society, and not by the abilities and desires of the individual himself.

Therefore, it is extremely important to develop the ability to adapt your professional and personal goals to the development trends of modern society, to be able to adapt without disturbing your mental balance.

Reduction of social programs

The problems of self-realization of youth directly depend on social activities. In order to fully demonstrate their potential, to determine their inclination towards a particular field of activity, young people need to be provided with a foundation, so to speak, an arena for implementation. Reduction of various youth programs, inability to find conditions for active amateur performances, difficulties in the right to direct participation in educational, political, and labor activities. The younger generation has absolutely no place to show their potential, since society is not able to provide accessible leisure areas for realization.

Social insecurity

For successful self-realization, the younger generation must feel support and support from others. This is not only about the family and the general education system. The state must fully create favorable conditions for the livelihoods of the younger generation and the formation of a harmonious personality. If young people do not feel guarantees, a certain guarantee of the success of their future, then this contributes to the emergence of a feeling of fear and uncertainty about the future. Which, like any negative thoughts and emotions, creates obstacles to the self-realization of young people.

Moral and spiritual chaos

The last period of development of modern society notices a tendency towards the dehumanization of culture, the meaning of art is demoralized, the image of man becomes degraded, spiritual and moral values ​​fade into the background. Empathy and altruism are giving way to greed and consumerism. The spiritual values ​​of collectivism are replaced by selfish individual goals. All these factors, as well as the lack of a clear national idea among young people, are also part of the essence of the problem of youth self-realization. The media and social networks have a detrimental effect on the fragile young psyche. One should not underestimate the value of the Internet and all its benefits (which in the modern world occupy an important place in the self-realization of an individual), but here again it is necessary to develop in young people the ability to correctly filter information.

Fathers and Sons

We adults do not understand children, since we no longer understand our own childhood. Sigmund Freud

The problems of self-realization of youth include the eternal confrontation between the old and young generations. Basically, old people are always dissatisfied with the behavior of young people, they try to give advice from their past years, and young people, with all their youthful ambition, do not want to listen and draw conclusions. In fact, the confrontation between these two social groups can, both serve some benefit and cause considerable harm in the further realization of youth potential. Definitely, the experience of the past can be useful, so that, for example, you do not make the same mistakes or, as they say, do not reinvent the wheel. This is where the ability to filter information and give their own assessment of certain judgments comes in handy for young people.

As for the negative consequences, too persistent imposition of conservative views will hinder the desire of young people to develop in the modern world, keep up with the times, and adapt to the rapidly developing features of the environment. Young people, crushed by the authority of the older generation, lose interest in learning everything new, passivity develops, sometimes bordering on infantilism, and these qualities do not in any way contribute to self-realization and success. Therefore, in the process of education it is extremely important to find that notorious “golden mean”. As K. S. Stanislavsky said: “Let old wisdom guide young vigor and strength, let young vigor and strength support old wisdom.”

What it is

Each personality is individual. A person has his own desires and dreams. They may not agree with generally accepted ones, but they have the right to exist, unless, of course, they violate the law. Often, success is achieved by a person who firmly pursues his goal. He overcomes difficulties and continues the difficult path towards his cherished dream. Only in this case can success be achieved. A person who succumbs to the opinions of society and forgets about his own desires will never achieve success.

Personal self-realization consists of a person’s attempts to achieve desired goals in a more effective and efficient way. Often the opportunity for self-realization appears not in one, but in several types of activity. For example, in a person’s life, in addition to professional activities, there are many others. This can include family relationships, personal relationships, friends or various hobbies. A person sets himself further goals related to each of these activities and tries to achieve success in each of them. In this way, a certain strategy for future life is built, with the help of which a person’s actions are carried out. Strategies can be divided into the following types:

• The first type is associated with personal well-being. In this case, a person tries to provide himself with a comfortable existence and favorable conditions.
• The second type is associated with personal success. Refers to career growth when a person strives to reach certain heights and achieve success at work.
• The third type is associated with life self-realization. A person is trying to master skills that will help him achieve certain successes in life.

The choice of a particular strategy may be determined by several factors:

• From the conditions proposed by society and the public. In some cases they play a very important role.
• From the social class and religious denomination to which the person belongs.
• From the personal and psychological characteristics of a person.

Sometimes conditions force a person to abandon his own preferences and take a different path. For example, in modern conditions of the global crisis, a person often chooses a well-being strategy. Thus, he tries to survive in difficult conditions. In countries with more favorable conditions, people can choose a strategy for success.

The process of self-realization depends on certain conditions in which a person finds himself. Factors that influence a person’s maturation also become catalysts for the future scenario of life’s path.

What is self-realization? This is the internal desire of the individual to fulfill all his desires and aspirations by overcoming troubles and difficulties. World practice confirms that a person who strives to fulfill his aspirations always achieves the desired success. At the same time, those who do not try to achieve something find themselves in an unenviable position. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunities life has given him, he simply wastes his time.

The concept of human self-realization

This concept can be interpreted slightly differently in different areas, but the main essence remains the same in any of them. In a general sense, self-realization is the activation of the full potential and abilities of the individual, the active life position of the individual to realize their capabilities in various areas of activity and relationships within the framework of individual potential.

This process involves the realization of one’s own abilities, skills, knowledge and talents, regardless of whether they were innate or acquired. It is permissible to implement both prosocial and antisocial elements of implementation. Actions must always be purposeful and conscious, perceived by the individual as important components of his existence.

Problems of personal self-realization

The issue of self-realization interested the outstanding minds of antiquity. In the works of Aristotle there is a lot of discussion about the significance of this phenomenon, for example: “Happiness is achievable through the realization of a person’s potential talents.”

The problem of self-realization was an aspect of the studies of the American psychologist A. Maslow. The scientist believed that a person’s need for self-actualization, self-expression, self-realization of inherent potential is at the highest level, “decorating” the pyramid of needs. Maslow believed that satisfying this highest need is the most difficult task in comparison with overcoming the initial levels: needs of a physiological nature (the need for food and water, for rest), for safety and social aspects (friendship, love, respect). According to the psychologist, no more than 4% of the human population manages to reach such a high “bar” of the pyramid, while satisfying even 40% of the thirst for self-realization, the individual feels happy.

Not all scientists share the point of view of the author of the “Hierarchy of Needs” regarding this distribution of personal needs according to the importance. However, there is no doubt about the fact: the realization by a person of his existing potential, the successful application of knowledge and skills in practice in areas of activity that are significant to a person is an invariable component for a happy life of an individual.

On the path of personality development and its ultimate goal - self-realization, serious psychological problems often arise caused by a clear discrepancy between energy potential, intellectual capabilities, the level of acquired skills and knowledge and the degree of actualization of skills in reality. Due to various circumstances: intractable or ineradicable interference from the external environment (for example: living in a zone of a protracted military conflict), interfering internal factors (for example: poor eyesight with a natural talent for drawing), a person’s true abilities do not coincide with the desired end result of the activity. This discrepancy between capabilities, aspirations, and desires with the actual situation in a person’s life leads to a feeling of dissatisfaction, and in some people it potentiates pathological mental deviations.

The sudden cessation of the prospect of bringing existing skills to life is a strong stress factor for a person. For example: a talented and purposeful athlete, as a result of an accident, is forced to content himself with moving in a wheelchair, and the natural consequence of the resulting inability to express himself in the sports field is the formation of severe and prolonged depression. Another example of external interference could be the collapse of many years of work by a promising scientist as a result of the termination of project funding. The following negative development of events clearly demonstrates: although the primary disease is essentially alcoholic depression (dependence), the disease was aggravated by the loneliness of a menopausal woman who was unable to realize herself in life in the desired capacity - as a wife and mother.

Types of self-realization.

Since a person is a biosocial phenomenon, it is not correct to consider the issue of his formation as an individual in isolation from society. There are several types of self-realization:

• Personal;
• Creative;
• Professional;
• Social.

They are all interconnected and must be present in a person’s life. The main catalysts for their development are the upbringing and education of the child, which lays the model for his behavior in the future. Let's look at them in more detail.

Personal self-realization.

Since each of us positions himself as an individual, this issue becomes important from early childhood. The child wants respect, understanding, approval of his actions. This tendency only intensifies with age, either leading to success or to depression and complexes. Driven by this desire, a person chooses several possible strategies for his life path:

• The desire for well-being and material wealth;
• Success in conquering “peaks”, career growth;
• Development of your skills and abilities, including hobbies.

In any of the listed points, the individual’s personality and its self-realization are placed at the center, regardless of the type of activity. The main thing is to gain recognition and approval. First of all, from relatives and friends

That’s why it’s so important to harmonize the space around you, starting with your immediate environment.

Creative self-realization.

The desire to create something new is inextricably linked with the evolution of the human species. All masterpieces of world culture, achievements of science and technology are caused by this impulse. Thus, self-realization of the individual through creativity is rooted in the deep foundations of human existence. Creative, out-of-the-box thinkers are always more successful than those who act in a formulaic way. This is especially true in the 21st century – an era of rapid development of technology and information flows. Thanks to creativity, we shape our response to the surrounding reality and expand our worldview. The most important thing is that any of us can create. Only the forms of expression of the creative act change. Poetry, prose, painting, sculpture, metal and wood crafts, modeling, embroidery, origami, ikebana, graphic design and many other areas. Everyone can find a suitable activity

And it’s not so important to become the best, the main thing is to gain recognition and approval

Professional self-realization.

Success at work is also important to most people. And it's not just about money and promotion. No. Much more important is the feeling of being in demand, approval and recognition from colleagues and management

It is important to remember that work is only part of life. It cannot replace other aspects

This type of self-realization has the following goals:

• A sense of belonging to a specific community of people;
• The desire to take one’s place in the service hierarchy;
• The desire to be recognized among colleagues;
• Understanding your professional strengths and weaknesses;
• Planning your future.

Anyone, looking at this list, can easily determine at what stage he personally is.

Social self-realization.

Associated with the acquisition of general social success in the amount that is necessary for a particular individual to feel happiness. This type of self-actualization is collective in relation to the previous ones. In fact, social self-realization is precisely the highest degree of human needs that Abraham Maslow spoke about. To achieve success in society, you can take completely different paths. Become a first-class employee, be a private entrepreneur, engage in acting or any other activity.

Society is so diverse that there is a place for everyone. And, accordingly, in any manifestation of human activity one can be recognized and receive approval. Although, it’s worth making a reservation. Truly successful people do not depend on the opinions of others; they have already proven everything to everyone. Those who have not yet managed to fully realize themselves look for confirmation of their successes in the reviews of others. But this is just one of the stages of personality development that almost everyone goes through.

Self-realization is an integral component of a person’s full life, without which he is unthinkable as a biosocial species. This state can be achieved in various ways, including personal recognition and creative, professional and social fulfillment of a person. The main thing to remember is that the listed types of self-realization are interconnected parts of one whole. And to feel successful, you need to improve in each of them.

How to find yourself

To find yourself, you need to understand yourself, get to know yourself at a deep level. If you look at yourself with a superficial glance, you will see in yourself only the programs of society (you dress as is customary in society, your behavior is based on educational programs and generally accepted rules of people, your words are based on the model of your environment, etc.). And even thoughts do not belong to a person. Thoughts are shaped by society, the media, acquaintances and relatives.

The entire external form of a person is imposed programs from the outside. To find yourself, you need to immerse yourself in your inner world, feel your soul. Relax and immerse yourself in your inner world. What do you have there, what feelings, what desires? How do you feel about your soul?

An important point is that if you try to feel yourself in ordinary consciousness, then you will only see a set of programs embedded in yourself that you perceive as your own. But if you dive into your deepest feelings, completely different desires and feelings may appear there.

One of the most effective ways to enter your deep state is to do it through an altered state of consciousness. Or just relax as much as possible and enter a light alpha state. The easiest way to find yourself is this way.

In this state, remember your childhood. What desires did you have as a child? Most often, it is at this age that a person’s purpose in life and his talents manifest themselves. Capture children's feelings and dreams, remember them. Of course, remember the feelings and desires that you will have in an altered state of consciousness. These feelings are the real you. We can say that you found yourself in real feelings. Now let's move on.

Understanding freedom in the modern world

In the ancient world, freedom was a luxury, since not everyone could have it. There was a clear division between people of noble pure blood and slaves who did not have freedom. With the exception of those individuals who became slaves due to debt. A couple of centuries ago, serfdom existed in Russia, under which the free actions of some residents of the country were severely limited.

The slave did not have the opportunity to express himself, and therefore to develop too. His main task was always to carry out orders from his masters. They were responsible for their subordinates.

In the modern world, things are a little different. Here, with the abolition of slavery and serfdom, the concept of will was distorted and acquired a completely new meaning. In real time, independence manifests itself in the form of the ability to independently make choices and accept the consequences that arise from them. The only condition is not to go beyond what is permitted by society. Simply put, people are given the full right to choose, but only from the options offered. But this is enough for effective self-actualization.

Awareness of the will of choice and independence occurs in two stages:

1. Conscious need.

An internal moment in which an individual only thinks about the meaning of life, the people around him and the ability to choose how to move on, with whom to communicate.

2. The ability to choose.

So the first stage smoothly flows into the second, where the person has already thought about the fact that she will have to either make her choice or create new opportunities for this.

Religion's opinion on self-realization

Various world religions consider the problem of human self-realization from a different angle. The central role in the process is played by the human soul, which is not attached to the physical body and space, is a kind of ephemeral supreme being and completely occupies the body and consciousness of the individual. In order to reconnect with your present self, you need to leave the confines of your own body and consciousness.

In fact, in religious teachings, self-realization is the answer to the main question of the entire universe, the fundamental question: “Who am I?” The meaning of this answer through the realization of one’s own potential is that one’s own “I” is not the emotions experienced or the thoughts that arise, not the body or consciousness, but only the experience acquired over time.

People who are too closely connected with false manifestations of their own “I” waste all their energy and potential on negative experiences such as anxiety, fear and constant stress. As a result, thoughts, feelings, emotions and the physical body change, but the person himself remains exactly the same as he was at the very beginning of the path, that is, he does not develop and does not self-realize.

Victim of events

How to realize yourself when your life situation seems complicated and confusing? It happens that we feel like we have no power to change anything. The situation dominates us and we often become driven.

However, being a follower is a dangerous position.

Most people want to realize themselves at work. But we don’t always get the position we dream about. Or it turns out that we are working in a completely different field. Why is this happening?

Because a person is not always ready to make decisions and take responsibility. Suppose that an employee of a company has an excellent education, he has worked for 5 years, and there have been no promotions and are not expected.

It is extremely important to take the initiative into your own hands, be creative and, most importantly, not go with the flow. A story about a safe haven is not always about prosperity and success.

The human need for comfort and safety are the basic things that underlie our lives. However, they can also become the main limiters on the path to self-improvement.

The idea that it is not events that guide you, but you yourself, is key in creating a happy life.