Where were you 10 years ago?
Who were you then?
How have you grown since then?
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how would you rate your growth in the past 10 years?
10 years ago… I had loads of dreams and wrote them down too… If I were to score myself on how far I have come I would give my self a 7. Oops! Just 7? Well I have accomplished a lot between then and now. Made a lot of mistakes too. In fact I repeated some mistakes I had no business repeating, if I had just learned from them the first time around.
I grew in some way but it was at best by accident. I wasted a lot of time going in the wrong direction. Even though to those who didn’t know any better, I was doing really well. I had set backs and also had breakthroughs one thing I didn’t have – was a growth plan.
If it’s been a great 10 years for you, then you must make sure you do not snuggle in and get comfortable. You should be able to measure where you are on your journey and what it will take to finish strong. Keep keeping on. You are one in a million.
If you have not grown as you know you can, then it’s time to pay attention.
When I ask people if they have a plan for their personal growth, they fumble for answers. They then go ahead to list accomplishments, they talk about their work ethics, how they are influencing the lives of others positively, how their careers are thriving. Their answers are usually based on activity not on improving.
How about you? What is your plan to become better? What is your approach to work and success? And just in case you were wondering… hope is not a strategy! And the answer is not in working harder or working longer. It is certainly not in waiting for things to get better.
In order to grow to reach your potential, there needs to be mind shift. You must change from ‘accidental growth’ to ‘intentional growth’.
Those who do not grow intentional may grow here and there but that would be as a result of a happy accident. Right or wrong direction, they go with the flow and happen to learn some things as they go. Don’t let that happen to you! Get out of that rut!
The only difference between a rut and a grave is the length!
And by the way a person who has stopped growing or feels no need to grow anymore is a dead man walking!
So how do you know if you have slipped into a rut?
Take a look at the difference between a person who grows accidentally and a person who grows intentionally:
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “one’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”
If you want to reach your potential and become the person you were created to be, you must do much more than just experience life and hope that you learn what you need along the way. You must go out of your way to seize growth opportunities as if your future depended on it.
Why? Because it does! Do you want to meet the future you? Then always remember that growth doesn’t just happen for any one. You have to go after it!
Take a look at your calendar for the next 12 months, how much time have you personally scheduled for personal growth? If you are like most people, your answer will be none. Or you may have an event planned in the coming year. That’s not going to cut it.
Rework your calendar so you have an appointment with yourself for personal growth everyday, 5 times a week, fifty weeks a year.
Do I hear you say what? I don’t even have time for that! Guess what? You are correct. Do it anyway! If you want to succeed you need to do whatever it takes.
Get up an hour early. Stay up an hour later. Give up your lunch hour. Cut down on unimportant work. Delegate anything someone else can do 80% as well as you. If you don’t, you will have to prepare to give up your dreams and any hope of reaching your potential.
Start now! Just do it!
