Emotional Control The first element of our personhood relates to our emotional development. We can be in control of our emotions or they can be in control of us. Many people think that they can’t have that kind of control, but there are skills related to emotional flexibility, attitude, coping mechanisms and identification which can allow us to become quite adept at controlling our emotions.

Physical Control The second element relates to our physical body. In order to maintain personal control we have to exert a lot of energy - and that requires good physical conditioning. With proper nutrition, rest and exercise it is possible for us to develop stamina necessary to move us to higher levels of personal development.

Mental Control The third element involves our mental development. It is actually possible to develop our brain capacity in various ways so that we can be more effective in activities we involve ourselves in. We can develop our brain function skills in areas of content acquisition, quickness, outlook, concentration, focus and perspective.

Spiritual Control The final element relates to our spirit. The spiritual part of our being involves our self-awareness, creativity, conscious relationships, communication, choice, analysis, contemplation, imagination, self-discipline and perspective. These are elements that make up core of our being as humans. We are also able to develop each of these elements of our spirit to become more effective in our development.

The Choice to Take Control To really get a grasp on full scope of these four areas would require a whole book. But even a brief description of whole gives us a sense of personal development task. We can’t just work on one part of our life, or even several parts, and neglect others. Every part makes up who we are and we have to develop them all or ones which don’t grow will begin to pull down others. We all have choices to make in life. Some of choices have small consequences, but others may have life or death significance. Preparation for choices is not something that just happens. We have to deliberately become aware of areas of our lives that need work, then actively and aggressively go after it. But when me make effort to get it right, all preparation is worth it. At that point we are able to see those snakes that are coming toward us and know exactly what to do to deal with them.