Personal development is a topic tailor-made for the web. Alone in an office at a boring job, or in a quiet moment in an otherwise hectic day, reading practical tips on how to improve our lives is both a balm and a beacon—such stories make us believe that we can improve ourselves, or at least we can feel better by reading about how.

From increasing productivity to picking up more and hotter chicks, advice and how-tos abound, and there’s a lot of great stuff out there—I myself am particularly fond of Steve Pavlina’s experimental, experiential, sometimes esoteric take, and I’m supergeeked for his book to come out in the fall.

But for years I read these articles without my life ever dramatically changing. And, judging from forum postings and the continued popularity of PD material, I don’t think my experience is unique.

This is something we’ve talked about before on The Sunny Way—the gap between what we say we believe in, and what we actually do. But even if we get beyond our cognitive dissonances, even if we are successful in changing our diets, becoming early risers, and getting things done, I often wonder why.

What are we personally developing for?

Of course there’s the pleasure of setting and achieving goals, of learning how to master our fears and desires, and that can’t and shouldn’t be dismissed.

There’s also a huge number of people using PD techniques to play with new lifestyles, stepping out of the 9-5 paradigm by becoming bloggers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. This is huge—never before have there been so many free agents in our society, and their presence is changing the playing field for us all. I myself still work a 9-5, but changes in the marketplace have provided me with more flexibility and freedom than I had even a few years ago.

I can’t help but feel that we’ve only seen the very beginning of what’s possible as we develop ourselves and our abilities. What if, instead of taking on projects as individuals seeking primarily our own personal improvement and benefit, we took on creating the future, the biggest project of them all?

Developing because the future needs us to

One thing I’ve noticed: at this time in history, we seem to be more concerned with keeping our heads above water and preserving our comforts than with developing integrity or growing into better people. I say this not as an indictment of anyone, just as a simple observation that applies to many of us in the first world right now— myself included.

I think back to the time in my life when I’d while away the hours reading articles on how to improve myself and my situation, but not actually implementing them. Why didn’t I act? Why did nothing change?

For me, what was missing was a larger goal, a bigger context, a field of play dynamic and impactful enough to really excite me.

I’ve found that expanded context in dedicating myself to the vision we have for the future embodied in the conversation we are having here at The Sunny Way. Declaring my love for and responsibility to this vision has given me both a reason to develop and a community of support for that development. We all need both if we are truly to grow into the kind of people the emerging world needs us to be.

I am completely honest when I say that embracing this site and the thinking that infuses it has forced me to grow in ways that nothing else in my life has. I could have read inspirational and clever articles for a hundred years and never learned as much as simply putting a stick in the ground, saying “OK—this is what I stand for,” and allowing the next step to unfold.

Reaching for more than personal success

The point I am trying to make is a simple one—without something thrilling and juicy and audacious to develop for, most of us will be stuck clicking “related articles” links till we are old and gray. If we’re going leap out of bed at 5 am, we need a compelling reason to do it. I propose we look for that purpose in something larger than having a great income, relationship, or business.

We need to become the kind of people who can think about everything all at once, see connections between everything we take in, and consider our actions in the largest possible context. We need to grow spines, to do what we say we are going to do, to act on what we say we care about. We need to develop the ability to see value outside of dollar signs.

The future is coming, and it requires us to let go of what we think we know and release ourselves from the narrow compartments we live in.

Personal development in this context means a lot more than having an empty inbox and setting SMART goals. It means taking the next evolutionary leap from small differentiated individuals working in small differentiated spheres to expansive, expressive people coming together in brand new ways to solve problems at every scale, from individual to galactic. It’s about becoming a ninja, but not just so you get to be a ninja. It’s about saving yourself so you can save the world.

Slaying our personal demons and learning to master ourselves are necessary steps, but the real fun lies in coming together as collaborators to discover and create what’s next.

This article is meant to provide some context for the more personal development related pieces that will be appearing on The Sunny Way. Getting in shape, simplifying our lives so we can focus on what’s truly important, learning how to recognize new manifestations of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful—these are all ways in which we can grow and support each others’ growth. In doing so, we become the kind of people the future needs us to be, and we connect with a deeper source of energy and motivation.

What kind of person do you think the emerging future needs to create it? What steps are you willing to take to become that person? Let’s discuss…

(image by kevindooley via flickr)