Sunday School Lesson 28
LIFE SKILLS: SELF-DEVELOPMENT
MEMORY VERSE: “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings ; He will not stand before unknown men”. — Proverbs 22:29 (NKJV)
BIBLE PASSAGE: 1TIMOTHY 4:11-16.
INTRODUCTION: Everyone of us would like to live out life to the fullest, and make the most of who we are and what we do. This is one of the main factors that encourages individuals to seek the path of self-development. Self-development is a process of consciously improving yourself in various aspects of your life. It is the conscious pursuit of personal growth by improving personal skills, competencies, talents and knowledge in order to seek self fulfilment and proactively reach your fullness potential (Proverbs 1:5)
LESSON OUTLINES
1. WHY SELF-DEVELOPMENT?
2. HOW TO DEVELOP YOURSELF
1. WHY SELF-DEVELOPMENT?
Self-development could be for professional advancement, personal advancement or spiritual enhancement (Daniel 9:2). Whatever your goals may be, it is a continuous process that helps you being in significant changes in your life. Here are some of the reasons youths should develop themselves.
1. For self-awareness. Youths can attend Self-development or life coaching classes to get to know themselves better. Knowing who you are gives you clarity on the purpose of your life (Proverbs 20:5).
2. To achieve maximum potential. Developing yourself involves improving the existing skills and learning the new ones to become a better person and achieve more than you can physically, mentally and spiritually (Proverbs 24:14; 1Thimothy 4:14-15).
3. To improve performance. Developing your abilities and qualities will help you to perform better intellectually, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, to achieve your goals in life (2Thimothy 2:15).
4. To improve social skills that allow them to lead a confident life (Proverbs 18:24).
Self-development is an ongoing process of self development in your career, education, personal life, spiritual growth and other areas of life
2.HOW TO DEVELOP YOURSELF
1. Seek knowledge on what you want to improve on. Source for information related to what you need improvement on, e.g. audio and video materials, books etc (Eccl1:13).
2. Have a mentor/role model. It is helpful to be able to look to others for inspiration, motivation, or even just daily reminders of how you can continue moving forward on your journey (1King 19:19-21; 1Thimothy 1:1-2; 4:12-16).
3. Surround yourself with people of like minds. Spend time with people who are working on similar things as you, and you will find yourself growing with them at a faster rate than if you had tried to do it all alone (1Samuel 22:1-2; Proverbs 27:17).
4. Maintain self-discipline, stay honest with yourself and be intentional about your desired improvement (Proverbs 25:28; 2Corinthians 4:17).
5. Measure your progress. Reflect at the end of each day as it is a way to really know I’d you are moving in the right direction and when or where to pivot as you go along
6. Consistency is the key. Self-development happens slowly and deliberately. It should be a daily practise and lifestyle. Consistency is what creates a meaningful change (Daniel 6:10; 2Peterb1:10).
7. Embrace change. Your self-development plan needs to include how you are doing to change and what action you will take. Only action lead to results.
8. Be grateful and recognise your worth. Focus on what you already have. Think about how others benefit from what to do. If you improve yourself, those benefit will increase. Your personal development is for others, as well as for you (Psalm 100:4).
9. Follow your passion and pray along. It is not good doing things that you do not like. Choose actions that appeal to you and are in line with your values and pray as you work on them (Proverbs 3:5-6; 1Timothy 4:16).
10. Pray and follow the prompting of the holy spirit to be the best that God created you to be (Jeremiah 29:11; Deuteronomy 28:8-13).
CONCLUSION: Self-development can be a long path depending on where you are at present and where you what to be in the future. So, the sooner you start, the better it is.
QUESTIONS:
1.Mention four (4) reasons for self-development.
2. Identify at least five way to develop yourself.