If you are born to be a rose, why do you want to live as a Chrysamtheme?

Personal flourishing is not a goal but a process while we take care of our self (Greek: epimeleia (care) heautou (self)).  

Today’s article is dedicated to all the people out there that a) underestimate themselves, b) have a poor relationship with oneself, c) have low-self esteem, d) are scared to live in their full potential and e) prefer to bury themselves living a mediocre life. The good news is there is a way out of this behaviour. It’s a trivial and essential question at the same time: Flourish or not flourish?  

I prefer to talk about personal blossoming and not personal growth. Why?

When we talk about personal development, we often use the way of thinking of the spirit of the times:

• You have to be busy. You have to improve.
• You have to produce. You have to prove that you have changed. 

All this causes a lot of anxiety and often leads to taking stock of one’s year, of one’s history, as one does with company turnover. Therefore, with the idea that one has to accumulate and increase one’s inner turnover continually. 

This approach might be excellent for a company but not good enough for an individual. Personal growth is often a set of techniques that a person uses. Still, it also should be something unique and not something standardised. I want to introduce a personal flourishing concept that goes back to the ancient greek philosophy: Epimeleia heautou. 

The concept of self-care as a unique process of blossoming is different from working on oneself. The approach of working on oneself can imply fatigue, running after goals, which suggests this constant anxiety, which is what the society in which we live, a culture of performance, continually pushes us to fit in. 

Often when we wear a dress, the first thing we do is cut off the labels, because they bother us. And yes, if you want to flourish, you should be ready to remove labels. 

Personal flourishing means moving and acting according to your own vocation, toward your natural being and being in harmony with your desires and feelings. 

Practising personal flourishing means not wanting to be in a plantation of flowers that bloom all together, not wanting to look like the other flowers and approach an individual process. This process is about, listening to oneself, take care of oneself. Stay curious, leave space for self-care, and on the other hand, also take care of your time-space, there is no need to hurry. Find the right balance between stay curios and stay in motion. 

Our brain does not need to think things over, to continually return to something, to rack its brains, it needs to act. 

The human being is made to act, but everyone needs to act differently according to their characteristics and vocation. The process of personal blossoming helps you feel in harmony with all this, not to feel squeezed by society’s grip, of performance that tries to make you constantly more productive and more productive. Still, to feel free, you have to find yourself, your time, your speed of doing things, and your direction. 

Would you like to know more about how to flourish? Check my VIP-Mentoring Programm. 

Photo by Pascale Weber