Journey of personal development Part 3 Transcend yourself

Journey of personal development (Part 3): Transcend yourself © Paul T. P. Wong, Ph. D, CPsych The fifth cycle of Meaningful Living Group, March, 2015

Overview • Personal development is a process • The key stages of development: selfreflection, self-determination, & selftranscendence • Major theories of personal development • How to achieve self-transcendence in life • Meaning Manifesto

Moving from survival, healing to thriving

Constructing a better future

Personal growth is a process

Stages of personal development

Self-reflection

Self-determination

Choose your worldviews carefully

Self-transcendence

Self-transcendence makes us fully human

Ancient Greeks

Aristotle’s Four Cardinal Virtues

Confucius Five Cardinal Virtues

Carl Roger’s view of personal growth

Self-actualization

Seligman’s Well-being Theory

Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy

Basic tenets of logotherapy

What is self-transcendence? • • • It’s a primary motivation It’s an ultimate value It’s an expression of our spiritual nature It’s a way of overcoming our limitations It’s a way of integrating paradoxes & opposites It’s a the life style of a fully functioning human being

The meaning mindset vs. the success mindset Meaning Fulfillment Sacrificial Life Ideal Life Failure Success Wasted Life Shallow Life Emptiness

Transcends opposites

Virtue matters more than success

What is the meaning of life? • The most important question in psychology and psychotherapy: What makes life worth living? What is the meaning of life? • Different visions of the good life or worthy life • Meaning is important for survival and flourishing • Meaning involves all aspects of the person – cognitive, affective, motivational, social, cultural, spiritual and relational

Meanings are based on three values

Sources of Meaning According to Wong (1998), there are 8 sources of meaning and the good life. 1. Achievement 5. Relationship 2. Acceptance 6. Religion 3. Transcendence 7. Fairness 4. Intimacy 8. Positive emotions

Self-transcendence in PURE • Purpose – based on passion, value & selftranscendence • Understanding – based on a sense of coherence and relating to paradoxes in life • Responsibility – for doing the right thing and being accountable to a higher authority • Enjoyment – having a positive assessment of one life as a whole

The Meaning Mindset 1. Life has intrinsic meaning and value 2. I have the capacity for meaning seeking and meaning making 3. Meaning can be discovered anywhere 4. I can live at a deeper level by detecting the meaning & significance of any situation 5. I can live at a higher plane by serving a higher purpose & being attuned to the transcendental realm and sacredness in daily living. 6. I can live fully by integrating by my potentialities with my vulnerabilities moment by moment

Meaning Intervention • Accept and confront the negative reality -- the reality principle • Believe that life is worth living and affirm what is good – the faith principle • Commit to worthy goals and responsible actions – the action principle • Discover the meaning and happiness of living – the meaning principle • Enjoy the success -- the reinforcement principle or Evaluate the above – the self-regulation principle

Benefits of Meaning in Life • Mental & physical health • Survival & flourishing • Recovery & resilience • Religiousness & spirituality • Personal growth • Social harmony

Power of self-transcendence

A good life based on self-transcendence