10 Personal Development Lessons From Halloween
Editor’s note. This is republished from last year’s Halloween. Back then I was just getting the blog rolling and hence didn’t really have an audience. Still I really liked this post and wanted to share with all my new and loved friends. – Bryce
Even the sillier holidays can share great life lessons if you look deep enough. In light of Halloween, I wanted to share 10 personal development lessons Halloween can share with us.
1. Think Outside the Coffin (Box)
One of the best things about Halloween is that it gives people the chance to really do something creative. For us in Arizona the summer keeps us locked in the house and limiting the variety of activities we do. Halloween gives us a creative boost. There are so many ideas to consider; what costumes to wear, what places to check out, what parties to visit, what carving to make.
2. Don’t Let Fear Scare You
Halloween gives people the courage to do somethings they would never do any other time of the year. We let ourselves consider facing our nightmares and doing something new. It’s no surprise that many of us have some great memories to match this theme.
3. Wear Your Costume Confidently
Another great personal growth lesson Halloween provides is the confidence to be who we want to be. No other time of the year allows us this much freedom to drop our hesitations and become a super hero, movie star, athlete, or mythical creature. If only we could have the same confidence to do the same in our real lives.
4. Don’t be Afraid to Ask For Something
We all have things we really wish we could ask for but hold back because we are afraid of rejection. Yet, not too many requests go unnoticed Halloween night. If there is a reasonable request you’ve held off on making, take this opportunity to ask.
5. Explore New Places
Too often we tend to become home bodies or stay in our regular circles. However, when Halloween is upon us, we don’t hesitate to visit the haunted houses, corn mazes, or other celebrations. Encourage yourself to carry this habit beyond just Halloween.
6. Enjoy Your Fellow Ghosts
Halloween is a time of gatherings and friends. I’ve noticed having many more plans to see those close to me as the holiday has approached. Spending quality time with friends and family is a great way to have balance in our lives.
7. Remember the Dead
We all have dead relatives, but probably don’t pay much attention to them. In recent time, I’ve been able to learn some fascinating stories about my ancestors and the achievements they’ve accomplished. Use this time to learn something new about your family. Familysearch.org provides a great tool for beginners.
8. Don’t be Too Serious
Having fun is necessary. No one wants to be tied to another famous holiday celebrity, Mr. Scrooge. Use this time to let your self be silly, fun, and exciting with no regrets.
9. Be the Good House
Every trick or treater has the stops they call the “good house.” You know, the ones that give away full size Butterfingers. Apply that to your own life. Build a reputation for providing WOW experiences. Give generously and make yourself an asset to anyone who has you as a connection.
10. Don’t Eat Too Much “Candy”
The one thing we come to regret after a full night of Halloween festivities is eating too much candy and the tummy aches that result from it. In our daily lives we find other candy; too much tv, laziness, internet browsing, etc. The tummy aches may be different, but the effects are still negative.
How About You?
Any Personal Development Lessons From Halloween you would mention? Which apply the most to your lives? Please share your comments.
image courtesy of John Althouse Cohen
My husband will be the 1st to tell you he was grateful he had cancer. Although his story is sort of the reverse of yours. He almost died of lymphoma when he was 53 years old. He had lived mindlessly and insincerely for years, and I was prepared to divorce him.
The fact that he, in the words of one dr., circled the drain a few times was quite a wake-up call. It completely changed his life and opened his spirit to the possibilities of living authentically.
You were fortunate to learn the hard lessons early, so you won’t waste any of your precious life.
Thanks for the post!
That’s a great true story. I’m glad things came worked out for the better for both of us.
Indeed, I see it the same way that, I was blessed to experience it in my younger years so that the foundational lessons of gratitude could be learned right away.
Nice, Bryce. I love your creativity today. My Halloween tip is to be aware to the Haunted House of Howling NO’s. When your mind is free to imagine creatively, your life is a luminous festival of enthralling adventures. When you turn your mind into a dark Haunted House of Howling NO’s, you cannot possibly grow; you my want to explore and experience more of life, but when opportunity knocks – you lock the door tight and horde your “treats’.
rob white recently posted..A New Way to Think About Doubt, Belief and Faith
Thanks Rob,
I love the analogy. It really visualizes the concept very well. Any time I hear those NO’s I’ll think of the Haunted House of Howling No’s now.
Bryce
Hey Bryce,
Happy Halloween! I sent an update to my FB peeps this morning about how Halloween is the perfect opportunity to test drive our confident, uninhibited selves, but your post breaks it down so much better than I did. I’m really glad you reposted this.
Huge, scary hugs! Buwhahahahaha!
Melody
Melody | Deliberate Receiving recently posted..Can The Law Of Attraction Help You Get Pregnant?
Thanks Melody,
I am so happy you stopped by and commented. I’m a big fan of Deliberate Receiving.
Hey, great minds think alike! Halloween is a great confidence booster. Fears are right out on the table so there is nothing to worry about.
Hope you had a great Halloween!
Bryce
Good one Bryce. Love your creativity in bring in Personal Development into Halloween. Its good to read the good facts to improve oneself on a personal note and its also good to remember our ancestors. I always did try to know about my grandpa though I did not get to meet him while he was alive. This is a nice post. Happy Halloween Christian to you and your family. God bless.
Eddie Gear recently posted..Make Money Online Interview With Blogger John Saddington
Thanks Eddie,
I know what you mean. Both my Grandpas died when I was young. One was a photographer during WWII and the other was just as amazing.
I admit sometimes my eyes glaze over when I hear my Dad talk about family history, but it really is something that can be fascinating. We all think our stories are great, why wouldn’t theirs be any better?
Bryce
Wow, i couldnt have even thought of thinking in these terms on Halloween.Very nicely written and I particularly like “Be the Good House” as rightly put, we need to provide “good” source of information on our websites to be liked and followed.
Praveen Rajarao recently posted..Top LinkedIn Plugins For Your Blog
Well said Praveen.
I certainly strive to be the good house. It would be a nightmare if someone came to my house and they looked at me like, “you’re giving us THIS?!?!”
I don’t see you having this problem. Keep up the good work. Everyone loved your guest post!
Bryce
Wow- that is a complement coming from you. Thanks.
Praveen Rajarao recently posted..Top LinkedIn Plugins For Your Blog
I loved reading your post! The great lesson I’ve learned for Halloween is never to get afraid of ghost or my own wild imagination.
Maverick recently posted..Cellulite on stomach – How to get rid of it?
Thanks Maverick,
Welcome to the blog. I love your addition as well, imagination is something we shouldn’t fear or discard just because we are “adults” now.
Hope to have you back soon,
Bryce
Hi Bryce,
I would sure like to experience a full Halloween one day with my children. No I will be one of those children and go around to collect candies. Be like the children again. Another personal development lesson for us. Children have the most carefree lives.
Love the way you wrote about personal development using such a colourful and eerie festival. Those ten lessons are real life useful ones as well. Have you thought about developing a Halloween personality test to rein in the season? Your next project?
Jimmy recently posted..Using the Law of Attraction to Speed up the Attraction Process
Hey Jimmy!
Isn’t that one of the greatest lessons children teach us? How to let life happen and without the problems and challenges tearing us down.
I hope your Halloween was special, I had a great time and look forward to the rest of the Holiday season.
Bryce
Nice angle Bryce and very topical. Halloween is when the dead come to life and so it’s a great time for us to lay to rest our own ghosts to rest and come alive for real. The trick is to treat ourself to the best, most authentic life we can imagine and allow and let go of the deadwood of who are not. No masks only magnificence from now on!
John Sherry recently posted..Why ‘No Pain, No Gain’ Is Killing Your Sports And Possibly YOU!
John, you always give us a great comment. It makes us think about our lives more carefully and make the changes we need to have a better life.
I appreciate your visit as always.
Bryce
I’m a couple of days late, Bryce, but I couldn’t let this post go without sharing my own Personal Development Lesson from Halloween. Here it is.
Carve your own Jack-o-Lantern path in this world, never conform to the other paths; make it as creative as you’d like for it to be. Be original! Sharpen the tools of your creativity, and clean out the junk that holds you back. In the end, your Jack-o-Lantern path will be lit by a candle of passion, hard work, and perseverance. Your path will shine because you took the time to carve your own destiny. That was too fun! Hate I missed it on the actual day.
Can you tell that I absolutely loved this post?
Deeone recently posted..Life’s Lessons: What Have you Learned Lately?
Haha,
It’s never too late for Halloween. In fact I may have a zombie post coming up. My friend told me I should write a post about not being that guy on the team that gets everyone eaten by zombies and relate it to the co-workers that drag a team down.
Also, the comments were so AMAZING here that next year I would love to make a follow up post with the personal development lessons others have taught me from Halloween. Yours would definitely make the list.
Time to carve my Jack-o-Lantern of Awesomeness.
Bryce
I absolutely loved this post, Bryce! I felt it was especially relevant for me because after Halloween, we celebrated the Day of the Dead and the Day of the Living here in Peru as well. “Remember the Dead” is a new point for me and one I’m getting used to. I love the tradition here of spending time with loved ones past and it’s something I want to make a habit of — commemorating them.
Lately, I’ve been especially interested in compiling my family tree, so I’ve been learning tons about ancestors. It’s so true that there’s so much to learn from them. And I find, that I often learn a lot about myself through their stories too. =)
Loved thinking about this! =)
Samantha Bangayan recently posted..The Señor de los Milagros, Miracle Giver
Thanks Samantha,
I’ve heard of those celebrations, but admit, I’m still fairly ignorant. You are my personal cultural specialist.
I noticed, a lot of people are finding a renewed interest in studying our genealogy. I think I was lazy in this regard since one of my Dad’s passions was family history.
Growing up it was fairly common to hear stories about my ancestors. Now that I’m on my own, I don’t have the luxury of just learning these things from my dad.
Great comment Samantha.
Very interesting, Bryce. Love the way on how you were able to get some nuggets on life on a holiday that, quite ironically, celebrates the dead.
Of the points, my favorite has got to be how you coined the term coffin instead of just simply using the box. Not being able to step out from our little boxes and comfort zones prevents us to become the person we are meant to become and so doing, we “kill” our own dreams and destinies, trapping them in the box which eventually becomes its coffin.
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