Modified on:
The text discusses growth, emphasising the intrinsic and multifaceted nature of personal development in living beings, unlike the unidirectional growth of non-living objects. It highlights the importance of individual growth for societal progress, underlining that meaningful change requires time, effort, and realistic goal-setting. Personal development is crucial for overall happiness, yet it often takes a long time to manifest results. The text encourages persistence, diligent work, and appropriate evaluation of goals, asserting that true growth involves internal and holistic change. It concludes by stressing that significant achievements necessitate time and commitment rather than superficial resolutions.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- Growth is a multifaceted process unique to living beings, involving not just size but also personal development and internal change.
- Personal growth takes time and effort, influencing societal progress and overall happiness.
- Meaningful change requires realistic goal-setting, persistence, and evaluation over time to recognize true growth.
- Human beings experience growth through cooperation and community, reflecting their complex needs beyond basic survival.
- New Year’s resolutions often lack substance; genuine growth comes from consistent effort and evaluating one’s abilities.
Growth
When born, she was a cute little doll. Her parents were delighted to hear her vagitus. Delicate and appearing like a soft cotton ball, the baby started growing. Soon, the infant started sitting on her own with a well-developed body. They said she was growing.
Growth is an oft-used word, but what is growth all about?
A small crystal of copper sulphate tied with a strand of horsehair hung in a super-concentrated solution of copper sulphate gains size. Is it growing? Should its growth in size not be considered growth?
Growth is universal
Children learn about growth through the experiment described above. A positive increase in size, mass, weight or any physical possessions is growth. It causes an increase in volume or size. In the living world, a seed germinates and becomes a sapling, which transforms into a tree. Similarly, an embryo grows in mother’s womb and born as a foetus who develops into a baby and then child. In both cases, they are growing. Their appearance changes as they grow. Crystal in the experiment cited above has also become big, gaining volume and mass. Growth is universal in the living and non-living world, but both are distinctly different.
Growth: living vs nonliving
The growth in the living world, like the germinating seed and the baby, is not unidirectional. Their growth is multifarious. Living organisms not only grow but at the same time develop. They gain size, mass and appearance, and simultaneously, they develop certain qualities guided by the genetic code they possess. The Crystal, on the other hand, grew unidirectionally, gaining mass and size only. Apart from this, the growth of the germinating seed and the baby is intrinsic and takes place from within, while the Crystal grows by the deposition of material on its surface. It is induced, not intrinsic.
The growth of the living world is thus intrinsic and organic. It is multifarious, involving development. In non-living things, growth is by external causes and stimuli. (Medicneet)
Human beings
In terms of human beings, growth and development become all the more important. With the increased cranial capacity of a large brain with ample reasoning and logical power, human beings don’t need only to fulfil their basic needs like food, shelter and begetting their progenies. The dimension of growth and development increases manifold in human beings. Conflicting thought processes and differences of opinion cause churning of thoughts to bring out the best of the best thoughts for implementation in society, affecting masses. Despite having highly developed brains, human beings are not fully self-sufficient. They need cooperation and help from within their community and outside world. This brought them together to form society.
Society and growth
A society starts with an individual, who is the basic unit of a society. Two or more individuals make a family, several families become a community, and several communities become a society. The last stage of the ladder is the country. It construes that the growth and development of an individual is necessary for the cascading effect of development. Starting from an individual, it percolates down to the nation and vice versa. A physically healthy and mentally satisfied individual radiates positive energy, benefiting the family and the country.
Personal development and holistic growth are essential for an individual’s overall happiness. Yet, growth does not always manifest quickly. It can take a long time to see results and achieve goals; at times, the time stretches overwhelmingly long. This can lead to feelings of desperation and an accumulation of negativity within the individual. So, the focus should be on the core principle, which is deed, often referred to as “Karma.”
Evaluation of growth
Evaluating one’s life within a short period is like asking a person about what one was feeling after a few days’ fever. Immediate change can be felt and expressed, but complete and significant change would be difficult. It is akin to criticising a government about its performance within a few months’ time. Gradual change is slow and has a permanent impact. It is like evolving a new thing. The Earth and life evolved in its present form after billions of year’s changes.
A human’s personality changes, grows and evolves into a good human being. Starting from the infancy, when human was in a very basics of emotions, mental caliber and habit, the baby’s growth and development by picking up pieces of experiences is phenomenal. In the journey of life, humans change their habits or routine to grow in the right direction. The change in habit or routine can easily be perceived, but its effects don’t. A person with alcohol use disorder, for example, decides to give up the habit and endeavours to do away with it, and perceives changes in his body and the situation. Initially, fighting the craving and then facing its after-effects are quite obvious to feel and tell. After struggling for some time, they can feel the effects of leaving alcohol.
Experiencing and expressing the intervening phase and evaluating its fallouts before and after the change leading to growth would be easy to feel and describe after a reasonable gap. It would be evident in physical, mental, social and financial aspects. The person who comes out of alcoholism would feel healthier, agile, social and, lastly, economically sound. They can manage things properly and devote time to constructive thinking and doing positive things, which give them pleasure and self-satisfaction. It is the evolution from bad to good by changing and growing.
New Year’s resolutions
Customarily, people make resolutions on New Year’s Eve or the first day of the new year. They promise themselves to do something or the other during the coming year. Ironically, at the end of that year, they often repeat the same resolutions. Resolving, thus, becomes a routine without carrying weight. Gradually, it is becoming a vogue. Resolving to adopt positive things is good but without the proper application of mind it lands in a ridiculously ludicrous condition. Things like making good friends, wise company and doing creative work chisel a good personality, trimming the extra burden of useless and unproductive things.
Rome was not built in a day.
Thinking about a positive change and working to achieve it is important. It gives personal satisfaction and happiness. Rome was not built in a day. Things do not reveal instantly, and it takes time but doing the right thing is in one’s ambit. Persistent, diligent work to achieve goal is the only mantra to get the desired. Mere thinking about anything is not fruitful. A yearly evaluation and review are necessary. It helps in dovetailing, remodelling and restructuring the work and its mode to fit the goal.
Biting more than what can be chewed is impractical. The goal needs to be set after giving due consideration to the capacity and ability of the person. A whale can’t live on the land, nor a fish can climb a tree. Taking up a task beyond the capacity would tax the person and evaluating the success after a year would then be frustrating. Accepting challanges after proper evaluating the capacities gives positive result and good opportunity to grow. Impediments refines the person and enhances the adaptability apart from the happiness of achieving the task. It is where hard work, dedication and commitment come into play. It is only then the comparison will be rewarding and give a sense of accomplishment and growth.
Further reads:
-END-
Kamal Kishore Srivastava
A retired government officer turned writer and photographer, Kamal Kishore Srivastava is a regular blogger and essayist who explores life’s deeper meanings through immersive reflections on nature, impermanence, and happiness. On his blog Nature’s Narrative, he blends philosophical storytelling with practical insights. Writing 1,200–1,500 words or more regularly, Kamal is committed to refining his craft, expanding his audience, and building a sustainable space where thought and feeling intersect.
Leave a Reply