An individual is fortunate if he makes even a modicum of psychological progress in his life. E.g., a dull, dim-witted individual develops a new level of mental vibrancy, or a weak individual takes to a modestly higher degree of psychological strength. In our own lives, it is unfortunately too rare to make such progressive strides.

To help us measure our true progress in life, we can develop a scale that ranges from growth to development to evolution to transformation. Most of us are able to grow, in the sense that we obtain more of what we already have. E.g. an individual, who has a house, develops an add-on facility in the back yard, or a sales person who had 20 individual boutiques as accounts, eventually acquires 40. That type of progress is horizontal, as it is more of the same thing. More knowledge, more money, more relations, more of what we already are capable of. Development on the other hand is a vertical progress, the acquisition of some quality of being, capacity, or level of achievement that we did not have before. E.g., the sales person who had 20 boutique accounts has developed an inner skill and capacity that has enabled him to attract a chain of stores as clients. Perhaps he has acquired a little more psychological toughness, or he has developed a new level of sales and interpersonal skill to make this happen. Most of us have made some progress along these lines at some point in our lives, though, realistically, it has likely not been enough. In fact, most of us are content with horizontal growth, of more at the same level. There are even a few who do not even have the aspiration for that minimal form of progress. They usually will regress.

Above development is an even greater form of progress. It is what we can call human evolution. When a weak person becomes a strong person, that is evolution. When an uneducated dolt becomes a well-read expert in a field, there is certainly evolution. It is a movement and progress to an entirely different plane of being. When a wildly emotional person becomes a psychologically stable and reasonable individual, they move from a lower vital plane of life to a higher, mental one. It is an evolutionary movement. If that same person goes further and is able to maintain a constant level of calm and peace within, then that individual has even been a modicum of spiritual evolution. Very seriously taking to a path of personal progress can lead not only to vertical development, but, in the rarest of cases, to personal, and even spiritual evolution.

Finally, the greatest form of progress, even beyond evolution, is Transformation. It is a decidedly radical change in our nature. It is not only a movement from one plane to a higher plane of being, but the permanent settling there so that the change is second nature to us. It is virtually unheard of, yet remains a measure of ultimate progress in life. E.g., the once emotional, non-stable person has now progressed to become a tower of calm for others in the world.

Finally, the greatest form of progress, even beyond evolution, is Transformation. It is a decidedly radical change in our nature. It is not only a movement from one plane to a higher plane of being, but the permanent settling there so that the change is second nature to us. It is virtually unheard of, yet remains a measure of ultimate progress in life. E.g., the once emotional, non-stable person has now progressed to become a tower of calm for others in the world.

Whatever the level of change we seek, the key to making that progress is our level of aspiration -- which is, in essence, our conscious intention to make a thing happen. Do we change because life forces us to do so, or because we consciously desire for it to come about? Conscious change is the best way, the way for the True Individuals of the future.

Additional: Levels of Human Progress