There is an old adage in business that I believe is very true – you grow before your business grows. I believe this rule applies not only to business but anywhere that you are paid for the value of your knowledge, experience and skills. However, I am also of the opinion that many people who focus on personal growth don’t get a positive result. I believe there are three primary reasons for this that I refer to as the “Three Keys to Effective Personal Growth.”
Key #1 – The Growth Process - I find that many people understand the word growth but do not necessarily understand the process it takes to achieve it. The growth process has three steps – Awareness, Activity and Resolve.
1. Awareness: Awareness is a thinking process. So much of it revolves around the concept of beliefs. To better understand beliefs, check out Gordon Hester’s blog this week on “The Power of Beliefs” http://www.gordonhester.com/?p=769 . Awareness allows you to solve problems, make better decisions, and plan better for all aspects of life. I have found that having the right thinking is a critical aspect of having the right reality. Thinking should revolve around simple questions. Answering these questions will provide the awareness to create the necessary thinking needed in order to improve life (or your reality):
a. What are my limiting beliefs?
b. How do I grow more?
c. How do I contribute at a higher level?
d. How do I have more fun in life?
e. How do I find gratitude and appreciation in life?
f. How do I improve relationships in my life?
g. How do I manage my time?
2. Activity: Activity is the path to results. Awareness has little value if you don’t put thinking into action. To change reality through activity, the focus needs to be about strategies and systems in order to create structure around activity.
3. Resolve: I have found that discipline is a critical part of both success and happiness. Our habits (good and bad) create our reality. If we want to fix our reality it is important to be committed to change. As we are all aware, change is the only constant in life. So many people allow life to control them vs. them controlling life. It is critical to understand what drives discipline and for the importance of discipline to be part of your reality. You cannot afford to be a weather vane that changes with the breeze if you want to create the reality that matches your model.
Key #2 – The Focus Component – It is not uncommon for people to recognize they need to grow. Often this realization is driven by dissatisfaction or the desire for more in life. Regardless of the reason, it is important to recognize that often the smallest change can produce the biggest result. This means you need to focus your personal growth around one key factor – what you need to do in order to increase your value to the marketplace. If you can narrow down personal growth to where it is more of a “rifle approach” than a “shotgun approach”, you will find that focus creates order vs. feeding chaos. Too often I see people recognize the need for personal growth but then seek to achieve it by attending seminar after seminar or reading book after book. This approach often leads to “information overload”. There is so much information they cannot effectively do anything with it. Remember, putting one piece of information into action in order to increase your value to the marketplace is better than one million pieces that never turn into action.
This brings me to a key strategy that I have used for years to focus my personal growth – embracing problem solving. Problems are the path to resourcefulness and are one of the great gifts for focused personal growth. The key is to view them as a gift vs. a problem. One of my favorite business distinctions is that business is nothing more than the pursuit of a higher quality problem. Too often people do everything they can to avoid problems or look for others to solve them. There is no more growth in having others solve your problems than there is in having others lift weights for you at the gym. YOU have to do the work to gain the reward. I would encourage you to sit down and identify the “Problems that Deserve Attention’ (PDAs) in your life. These are the major problems that if resolved can do the most to improve your life and increase your value to the marketplace.
Key #3- The Integration Component – Knowledge is not power. Knowledge in ACTION is power. Awareness has little value if you do not integrate it. I find many people struggle with personal growth because they cannot put thought into action. When it comes to integration and strategies, one of the best tools is the “Bucket Model”. This model is built around a simple principle; you cannot fill a leaky bucket. If you look at the model below, it covers two simple strategies:
First, focus on what works. If you have something that is working, then feed it. That includes both thinking and action. What you feed becomes your reality. If you feed positive energy, you get positive energy. If you feed growth, you get growth. Equally, if you feed bad thinking, you get bad results. The key is not just to feed what is working but making sure what is working is giving you the results you want in life. Often in business this is about focusing on income production and innovation.
Second, fix what is broken. Failing to fix the things in our lives and our businesses that are broken often kills growth. It is important to focus on fixing the biggest holes in your bucket first. Don’t make the common personal development mistake of “focusing on the minors”.
In closing, personal growth should always be a part of your life. I have used the three basic keys above and it has had a profound difference in my results and rate of personal growth. Personal growth does NOT have to be complicated. If you stick to the basics outlined in this blog and master the use of these keys, you will likely become an example of personal growth for others to follow.
I would like for this website to be a place where we can all gain ideas, strategies, etc from each other. Also any thoughts or general feedback is greatly appreciated. Feel free to use the comment box below…. would love to hear from you!
