Blog updated: September 19, 2022

What Is Personal Growth?

Personal growth is first and foremost growing from the inside out. Most of us hate change because the way we are right now is familiar and comfortable. So even if we don’t like where we are, we still may not want to change. Unfortunately, if we don’t change, then the things we don’t like about ourselves will still be there six or twelve months later. Change nothing and nothing changes.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

So why do we sometimes hope that things will simply get better… without doing anything?? Because change is hard. Uncomfortable. And honestly, I don’t like it at all at times.

Change Is Uncomfortable

A couple of years ago, my daughter (who works with me) and I were having a conversation about the business and what areas of growth we needed to focus to build the business.

“The number one area we need to focus on right now is sales,” she said to me. 

Boy, did I ever feel uncomfortable! But I said, “That’s the same conclusion I’ve been coming to as well.”

And so I began to focus more on developing my sales skills. I joined an online sales program where I could receive coaching, I read books, and I studied other entrepreneurs online to learn from them. 

I’m going to be honest… sales is still one of the most challenging parts of running my own business.

I love teaching. I love creating content. But without sales, I can’t have a business.

So I keep putting myself out of my comfort zone and I’m growing and learning how to get a bit better each week. I certainly didn’t wait until I was ready to sell — because otherwise, I never would have gotten started! 

Personal Growth Can Be Overwhelming

I remember when I first started learning about personal growth it was really overwhelming at times. There’s so much material out there and so many areas I could work on.

How do you even get started? Or how do you know where to start?

One thing I’ve learned over the years is to keep things simple. Tackle one thing at a time… and I’ve found these three simple steps helpful in learning how to grow.

Step #1: Awareness

Personal growth means becoming aware of ourselves and who we are…

This can mean becoming aware of our character strengths as well as our weaknesses:

• Do you become impatient really easily?
• Are you great at solving problems or do you easily become overwhelmed and give up?
• Do you find yourself in the same situations over and over again and feel frustrated with the results?  

We need to take moments to pause and ask ourselves reflective questions.

• What am I good at or what do other people tell me I’m good at?
• What do I find difficult or where do I feel most easily frustrated on a day-to-day basis?

The answers to these questions can help us identify what strengths we bring to relationships with our family, friends and work. It can also point us to areas that we need to improve.

Once we become aware of areas that we need to change, the second step is to experiment.

Step #2: Experiment

This next step is where we begin to look for and discover the people, support network and resources that we need in order to make the changes we want to make.

We are attempting change.

So we step out and try something new… sometimes it works and other times it falls flat.

Regardless, we can learn from the experience and our mistakes, and as a result, we continue to grow.

As we experiment with different changes, we’ll begin to find solutions and a new way forward to get the results we want to see, whether it’s in our personal lives, relationships or at work.

Step #3: Solidify

The final step involves nurturing good habits that have helped us make those changes. We continue to practice these good habits until they become a part of our everyday life.

When these actions have become more routine, we no longer have to think about the habits as much because we’ve been practicing them so much…

So over time, it gets easier. We are people who are becoming.

Another way to look at is that we’re learning new systems and supports that we need to make the changes we want to make.

Everybody goes through difficult seasons in life but not everybody changes for the good during these times.

Personal growth means that we reflect on, become aware of and we experiment and solidify those changes so we become the person we long to be… 

The person that God is creating us to be.

Change Is A Process

When I was younger, I didn’t realize that change was a process and that it had to be intentional.

I thought it would just happen magically overnight.

As I got older and started on my personal growth journey, I realized that personal growth is more like three steps forward and one step backward.

Growth does not happen in an instant and growth does not happen on its own.

I need to be intentional about growing if I want to grow.

What is your growth plan? How do you plan to continue to grow for the rest of the year?