A Fresh New Look at Personal Development at Work

In Romans 12, St Paul talks about two favorite themes of the "personal development" industry that we've talked about from time to time: self-affirmation and maximizing your potential. He doesn't use these terms, of course, because they're concoctions fraught with the world-view of modern psychology that pushes a secular, relativist point of view. St Paul's words, on the other hand, stand on the firm bedrock of Truth.

Self-improvement is, of course, a worthy goal. But the importance of being grounded in the Truth as we develop our skills and talent can't be overstated. Corporate training programs that utilize techniques designed to help us become better workers, better managers, etc. may or may not be grounded in Truth, so it's up to us to keep ourselves on the straight path when we're subjected to these programs. For example, some of us think too little of our capabilities. Certain techniques of "self-affirmation" claim to be useful in boosting self-confidence or improving personal and business relationships. But "techniques" that just make you "feel good" about yourself, that don't recognize objective reality can quickly and easily lead us to vastly overstate our capabilities or, worse, become inordinately self-centered. St Paul provides an antidote to this:

...I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him.

Fairly simple, straightforward common sense advice here that can appropriately temper self-affirmation. (Of course, you've got to be perfectly honest with yourself, something with which  many of us have a hard time.) But in addition to tempering your efforts, St Paul places those efforts into a specifically Catholic context:

For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we though many, are one body in Christ, and individual members one of another. 

As St Paul continues his thought, we find some good advice about maximizing our potential:

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

St Paul speaks to each of us as members of the Body of Christ, who understand that to gain the happiness of heaven, our primary focus each day is to know, love and serve God. Much of the self-affirmation/maximizing your potential propaganda appeals to ambitious individuals seeking success in the world or to group of employees serving the purpose of improving the bottom line of company. You do see and understand the profound difference here, right?

In conclusion, if you believe you lack self-confidence because you think too little of yourself, remember first that you are made in the image and likeness of God, then take St Paul's advice to consider yourself with sober judgment rather than simple thinking more of yourself than you ought. As for maximizing your potential, pray that Our Lord helps you know the particular gifts given to you and develop those gifts with the help of His grace.