The road to growth is not paved in gold. Sometimes its not paved at all, and you have to chart your own way. That said, the journey to enhancing your personal growth takes guts! If you’re not careful, you may fall victim to these 5 ways you fool yourself about being ready to grow.
It struck me sometime ago, like a ton of bricks on the head – that not many people are interested in personal growth.
Sure, they want the things others have (who worked for them), but the work- they do not wish to do.
Tell me about being unscrupulous.
Or, are they just foolish to the growth scene? Better question, which are you?
Since the latter brought you here, let’s take a look, at 5 ways you fool yourself about being ready to grow.
1. You are still blaming others for your Lack of Growth
Are you a bitter wood? Let me rephrase. Are you a grown adult (no longer a minor) still blaming your parents for the start they were able to give you in life?
You omit to seek out legitimate opportunities, you go in the opposite direction of their counsel and you loathe the pace of your life all because it is THEIR fault.
When will you sit, think, put your potential to work and at least try to do better than all the people you blame for your lack of growth?
You aren’t ready for growth if you keep pointing fingers outward
Growth is an intentional phenomena. Its time you go lock yourself in a cocoon and purge your mindset and be really hungry to grow – and willing to plant the seeds of growth so you can harvest.
When you emerge from this soul searching, habit breaking, comfort zone shaking lock down – you’ll finally stop fooling yourself with this blame game foolishness.
Whether you blame your family, community, or other subsections and actors of society for your stunted growth – is your business. My business is to let you know, that so long as this isn’t halted – you are fooling yourself about being ready to grow.
2. You Dream of Reaping Big with Little to No Planting
In Jamaica, we call it ‘red yeye.’ It is an adjective describing people who are desirous of what another person has to the extent that they feel envious and may try at all costs to have those things. This isn’t usually a pure kind of motivation to get what the other has. It can fester into jealousy and contempt.
People who are serious about growing – plant seeds and nurture them
Whether you plant seeds of investing in yourself by going back to school, learning a trade or simply cultivating good habits and dropping bad ones – or you plant literal seeds and nurture them to a harvest, the point remains…
Once you prepare for growth, one day you will reap.
However, if you dream without putting plans into action, then your dreams are just dreams. You are fooling yourself if you think dreaming is sufficient.
Plenty legends and highly successful people had dreams. What separates them from the crowd is that they woke up and worked on those dreams.
“I have a dream.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Also Martin Luther King Jr...…
“Nothing worthwhile is gained without sacrifice.”
What habits or inhibitions will you sacrifice to grow?
3. You Do the Easy…not the Terrifying.
Its not easy shedding skin. Ask the snake.
Its not easy locking yourself away in a cocoon. Ask the butterfly.
Its not easy delaying gratification. Ask the successful people.
Its not easy doing the terrifying. Ask the people smashing their personal growth!
Growth is terrifying. Its like loosing sight of the habour and sailing onto the big sparkling ocean. Ask the ships!
You risk fooling yourself that you are ready to grow, if the very things that will make you grow are terrifying – and ignored.
When you begin doing those ‘hard’ things on your to-do list, you’ll find true satisfaction. Not the shallow kind, that you get when you check the boxes to the easy things that don’t build up much momentum for your growth.
This is not to contradict the Jamaican saying that ‘one – one cocoa full basket.’ Translated, this means each small effort adds up. Sure they do. However, we’re talking quality here. Not quantity.
You’re fooling yourself that you are ready to grow if you keep yourself busy with the easy – the comfortable – the safe… and turn a blind eye to calculated risks – the terrifying – the trade offs.
4. You confuse Quick with Quality, and you risk your growth
Think about it. Fast food, fast fashion, quick run, quick cash. They’re for people in a hurry or for people who are slow to analyze quality.
Growth is quality and there’s nothing hurried about it, done properly.
Therefore, if you really mean business about being ready to grow, patience and persistence are habits to cultivate.
I’ve realized that I don’t take people seriously (in terms of quality) when they talk about quick cash, taking shortcuts, beating the system or going underground to achieve things they consider worthwhile. Why?
Those approaches may work – quickly. But the achievements don’t last and they can sometimes cost you more that the ‘right way’ would. Besides, the discipline and character that stems from growth may be missed. If that’s not a concern, then perhaps you’re not up for growth. A phony maybe?
I’m down for the wait. The building from the root up. Strengthening those foundations patiently, persistently and coming to a steady, sturdy rise. The quicksters may get to the finish line quickly, after all it seems like a race. But growth is a journey. And on this journey there are no finish lines, just new levels to keep unlocking. Do so the quality kind of way, you’ll turn out on top.
5. You’re paralyzed at the thought of failing
What if you knew you could do something and not fail, what would you be doing now?
Think about it in terms of your growth and where you see yourself advancing to.
Perhaps a whole lot of things, right? Choose one. Go at it. And if you do fail, at least you’ll learn new approaches of how not to fail on your next go.
But what if you do not fail? Amazing right? You’ll never know for sure though, unless you shake the paralysis of fearing failure and go at it.
A year from now, you’ll be a year older if you go at it.
A year from now, you’ll be a year older if you don’t go at it.
You choose.
Recommended: 7 Effective Habits of Successful People that could Change Your Life
Final Thoughts
Don’t be the type to talk big, dream big, plan big – and grow small.
In essence, be honest with yourself about where you are on your growth level and what it will take to go further.
Avoid these 5 ways you may be fooling yourself about being ready to grow by quieting your ego, fears and and doubts.
Nurture your patience and persistence. Above all, continue to root for growth.
Stick Around!
Thankfully, there’s plenty more content here to help you face your growth journey. All you have to do, is look around.
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