Throughout our lives – personally, professionally, spiritually, etc. – we are constantly evolving into the person that we do or do not want to become. A transformation if you will, from the person we are today to the person we will be tomorrow. This process can happen naturally, or we can be our own driving force in bringing about change.
While all of our circumstances are different, the stages through which we pass are more or less parallel.
I spent some time reflecting on this concept, trying to look at it from the standpoint of how specific change happened, or what was the driving factor in moving forward. I tried to isolate the moments that sent me to the next level of growth. I worked to identify and understand what it takes to experience the full spectrum of positive personal development.
In experiencing the full continuum, I believe you must move from stability to growth, and from growth to change. Some of us will experience all three in our lifetime, and others will find ourselves rooted in the comforts of stability or nervous at the thought of growth. Even fewer is the number of us who will be game-changers – who will find ourselves overflowing with excitement for having made a difference in our own lives as well as the lives of those around us.
Stage 1: Comfort In Stability
We are blessed with opportunity. Opportunity is our way of disrupting stability and creating something great, but stability can provide comfort, safety, and peace. It’s far less stressful to do the absolute bare minimum and know that when you wake up tomorrow morning life will be good - 'Hakuna Matata'.
Comfort creeps in, and the longer you find yourself wallowing on easy street, the more difficult it becomes to shake things up and make yourself vulnerable. Sometimes, we prefer to keep our comfort level at a minimum because it provides reassurance and reduces uncertainty.
However, if we want to experience growth, we must get past the ambiguity, doubt, and uncertainty.
Stage 2: Uncertainty in Growth
Growth doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that can occur over a period of weeks, months, and sometimes years. Simply showing up isn’t enough. We must devote time, energy, and passion into the area in which we want to experience growth. Not just a little of each, but a lot, and in equal amounts. And when we think we have given enough, go ahead and give a little more.
It’s damned hard work, and I truly believe this is the exact reason a large number of people will develop complacency and comfort in being in a stable environment. I’m just as impatient as the person next to me, and it’s difficult when the results aren’t always immediately at my fingertips. But I can promise with a faith, commitment, and patience to become better, that change will occur.
Have you been trying for some period of time to make a change – to grow an area of your life beyond being comfortable? Are you being held back? Answer this question honestly. Do you find yourself asking the question, ‘What will happen if I don’t reach my goal?’ This fear of failure screams your uncertainty and will be the driving force of living a life of mediocrity. Instead, ask yourself, ‘What happens when I reach my goal?’ This question will help to eliminate your doubts and will also be the catalyst for your personal growth. Most importantly, it will build the framework and foundation for the behaviors to drive a lifestyle of change-making!
Stage 3: Excitement in Change
As mentioned before, in order to experience personal growth, it is going to require a time commitment. With a long commitment it will likely require much more mental strength. It will require what I like to phrase ‘celebrating the small victories’.
This simply means that you recognize those incremental gains.
This simply means that you relish in the moment when you have a breakthrough.
This simply means that you cherish the opportunities that you have seized.
This simply means that you use each ‘small win’ as the catalyst to keep you moving forward.
So, what’s next?
When you woke up this morning did you ask yourself, “What am I going to do today to make a difference? What am I going to do today to be just a little bit better than I was yesterday – a little bit faster, a little more efficient, a little more focused?”
A comfortable person might ask the questions, but do they actually respond and take action?
Take action. Remind yourself that you are blessed with more tools and resources than any other era in history. Then, tell yourself that today you will be better than you were yesterday.
It is possible.
Today is possible.