“If I ever acquire wisdom, I suppose I shall be wise enough to know what to do with it” Anonymous
I recently interviewed a young woman for a role in one of my organizations. She was bubbly, charming, and frankly a joy to chat with. One of the things she kept saying in her answers is how much she was committed to self-development and personal growth. This is a trait that is important to me for everyone in my organization. As always, I decided to dig a little deeper. The conversation quickly took a turn when she informed me that even though she said she was committed to personal growth, she had not read a book since high school, did not have a coach or mentor, couldn’t tell me who her role models were, and the only podcast she has ever listened to was a true crime series, which may be entertaining, but not considered personal development, unless your career path is a detective or serial killer.
This begs the question if the terms “personal growth” and “self-development” have become buzz words? Terms that are easily said and received but misunderstood, not defined, and not coupled with action.
I believe we were put on this planet to EVOLVE which is defined as “develop gradually from a simple to a more complex form.” Evolution’s evil twin is regression and it’s annoying uncle is complacency. I would argue that complacency is worse than regression in that it is generally disguised by comfort. If you are devolving or regressing, at some point you are going to meet pain or misery which may instigate a new vigor for growth and be a catalyst for evolution. If you are stuck in the gluttony of complacency you are more than likely not experiencing the pain of regression nor the joy of evolution, but are numb to emotions and unsatisfied.
TAKE ACTION FORWARD and EVOLVE:
“Wisdom is knowing who to be and what to do in a given situation; Virtue is acting on that wisdom” Brenden Burchard The Motivation Manifesto
It can be overwhelming the amount of books, podcasts and blogs that are available to you. A principle that I learned several years ago that has helped my personal growth and development is the idea to LEARN FOR DOING SAKE, DON’T JUST LEARN FOR LEARNING SAKE.
So what is the next step in your personal growth and evolution?
Start by asking these questions:
- What is the number one pain point in my business or life right now?
- Who would I need to be to eliminate that pain point?
- What gap in my knowledge is keeping me from being that person and accomplishing my goal right now?
- Who is an expert on that topic?
- What will growing in that area do for you, your business and your family?
For the next 30 days focus your personal development on nothing but that gap. Identify books, podcasts, mentors, events that all focus on that topic and nothing else. If you do this, you will be surprised on how quickly you can grow and close that gap.
If you are interested in joining one of my workshops on becoming the best version of you, be sure to join the Enchilada Nation at https://www.thewholeenchilada.biz/join
You may want to listen to the recent episode of my podcast, Episode #45-Your Limits Begin where Your Vision Ends.