The power of the updating trend

We all have the possibility to be happy and feel full with ourselves and our environment. But many times we find spaces that do not provide us with that feeling and delay our personal growth. In this case, the word “delay” is used and not “slow down,” because there is a concept coined by Carl Rogers called “updating tendency.” In fact, this is one of the bases on which his theory of his famous “person-centered approach” is based.

The constant updating

The actualizing tendency always induces movement. Sometimes faster and sometimes slower. It depends a lot on us, on the perception we have of our environment and the environment itself.

The updating trend and the environment

When conditions, for example, in a family are facilitators of personal development, the members of that family enhance their “actualizing tendency.” And so, day by day, they become the best they can be, they grow on a personal level very quickly, until they feel that at that moment they are complete. But that process does not end there but continues for the rest of your life.
On the other hand, in a family where the conditions are not these and are somewhat dysfunctional, growth is much slower, but still, it happens. How is it possible? Because people manage to be the best they can within that environment and those conditions. And if conditions change for the better, the “updating tendency”, consequently, unfolds much faster.

Person-centered approach

This concept is one of the bases of Rogers’ theory, the “person-centered approach.” The expert psychologist trusts that the other person in front of him has within himself everything he needs to grow. And, therefore, to develop and be happy. He just has to find it and the psychologist is something like his “guide.”

Application

The applications that we can give to this concept are varied, but, in particular, one will stand out, from which you can then deduce many others.

It is always good to have moments of introspection. Those in which you wonder what you feel, why you do it that way, how you act in certain situations or how in others… This helps us understand ourselves better and know and review parts of ourselves that we don’t like and enhance those that we like.

What is advisable in times like this is that, the moment we detect something we don’t like, we don’t have to reject it. It is part of us and simply discarding it is not going to make us grow. On the other hand, if instead of rejecting it, we accept it as something that is there and that we want to change, we have already taken the long-awaited first step.

Acceptance (which does not necessarily imply that we have to like it) of that part that we see as negative, means that, Then we tend to launch the “updating trend”. And that engine begins to deploy with more force. Therefore, thanks to this introspection, possible ways to change what we don’t like may begin to appear. Thus, we begin to “update” ourselves to the best version of ourselves.

The challenge is not easy, but it is worth trying. In any case, I believe that with the idea in mind, each person will know how to discover how they can deploy their “updating tendency” and put it into action with greater force to be the best they can be today.