As the Spring season of growth begins to bloom, I like to reflect on what areas in my life-garden may need tending. We often think about personal growth as something that just “happens” to us. But in reality, it requires our active participation.
In fact you can even pursue personal growth, the same way a gardener pursues a bloom or harvest. The seeds have likely been planted in you already. They just need your attention and your commitment. Here are three reasonable and meaningful steps you can take for your personal growth this week.
1) Write down and commit to one goal related to changing a bad habit. Biting your nails, smoking, yelling at your kids, drinking a little too much per sitting – whatever your bad habit is, think about one small step you could take toward changing it. Then, write that step down as a “SMART” goal (Specific, Measurable, Adaptive, Realistic, Time-bound) and commit yourself to accomplishing that step. You may not kick the habit altogether, but part of growth in incremental change. Cutting back here, moving forward there – this is still positive progress!
2) Listen, read, or view a reliable piece of media representing one perspective or opinion you typically disagree with, and do so with an open mind and heart. Let’s face it, nobody likes to interact with the opposite “team” – whoever “they” are to you. These are divided times to say the least. But a great way to grow your compassion and tolerance toward those who think differently than you do is to simply provide an opportunity for yourself to hear their perspective all the way through, in their own words. Not for the purpose of scrutiny, not for the purpose of further disagreement, and certainly not for the purpose of misuse or abuse – but rather, do so simply to hear and learn. You may well still disagree, but you can disagree kindly and maturely, knowing you have at the very least learned the truth about your proverbial opposite’s perspective from their own mouths.
3) Schedule a coffee-date with your mentor. If you don’t have a mentor, ask the one person you feel you trust the most (who isn’t your significant other) if they may be willing. Having a person in your life who has a little more lived experience than you do, someone who is willing to speak into your situations and emotions with third-person wisdom and clarity, is one of the greatest tools in your toolbox for personal growth. More often than not, our mentors can see things that are happening in our blind spots and help us to acknowledge and address them in a way that is compassionate and helpful.
If you put these three steps into practice this week, I guarantee you will see some little bit of positive growth in your life. You might be surprised by what starts blooming!
