Personal
Growth

Force for Good

The better we are, the better the world around us will be.  Your actions help tip the scale of humanity’s virtue. 

Better You Better Life

Almost always, the better person you become, the better your life gets.  Be worthy of the outcomes you desire.

For personal growth newbies:

Let’s start with the best advice up front.

Just get started.

Every step you take in the right direction is a good thing, no matter how small.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we’re all on a journey of self development.  The path is dynamic: everchanging and often unpredictable.  Every summit you reach reveals a new mount to climb.  And that’s one of the most beautiful aspects of life, as long as you embrace it.

Reject it and you’ll be in for some pain.

If you’re stagnant too long, the world will pass you by.  There is no standing still.  The world around us is always changing.  In relation to that, you’re either making progress or falling behind.

It’s a daily struggle.

What You Do Every Day

How you approach each day is vital.

Every time the sun comes up, you’ll receive opportunities and face challenges.  For the most part, you can’t control how these day-to-day variables come at you.  But you are in control of your own choices.

The best advice is to make good choices automatic.

Willpower and Impulse Control are limited resources.

That’s the power of developing good Habits.  Instead of fighting with yourself to eat right and start your days well, make a healthy Diet and solid Morning Routine your defaults.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.  You’ll have to exercise Self Control and Discipline, especially at first.  Mundane things are often the most important.  They may not be fun or exciting but they have an outsized impact.  You can use strategies like Gamification to make it more engaging, but ultimately you just have to bite the bullet and force yourself to Delay Gratification.

The good news is that it does get easier.  Once your new habits are wired into your brain, it takes less effort.  Staying on track isn’t as hard as getting on track in the first place.  “An object in motion” and all that.

However, the difficulty is secondary.  What’s more important is the impact.

They have a direct effect on your:

• Happiness & Mental Health
• Fitness & Physical Health
• Performance & Productivity

It’s easy to underestimate them.

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”

—Samuel Johnson

But in the final analysis, changing your habits will change your life.

Because incremental improvements compound over time, there’s no telling where you could be a month, a year, or a decade from now.

So make the choice to improve your habits today (and again tomorrow).

Free Will: A Gift & A Curse

We’ve all heard the line:

“People can’t change.”

It’s a lie.

In fact, people can change, and often do.

Many just don’t (of their own volition).

If YOU don’t, it’s YOUR fault. 

You have to take Personal Responsibility for who you are, your life, and what happens to you.  Indeed, only you can.

Tom Bilyeu and Gary Vee take it to the extreme.

“Everything is my fault.”

Taken 100% literal, it sounds like overkill.  Understood how it’s meant though, it is 100% the right way to live.

Yes, we can acknowledge that we aren’t to blame for all the circumstances we face.  Ya know, sh!t happens.  It’s just a fact of life.  However, we can take responsibility for how we handle said circumstances.  Moreover, we can also take the blame for our lack of preparation for specific situations.

It’s harsh, true.

But counterintuitively, it’s actually a hopeful perspective.  With accountability comes agency.  It is equal parts terrifying and empowering when you realize that you are the fall guy and your only backup.

Scapegoat or GOAT:

You decide.

Shame or glory:

Your choice.

Nothing is handed to you in life.  At least nothing good.  At least nothing good without strings attached.

As Jim Rohn said:

“If somebody hands you a million dollars, best you become a millionaire quickly (so you get to keep the money).  Otherwise, sure enough, it will disappear.”

What happens to you is not as important as what you’re willing to do about it.

Don’t shrink away; face challenges head-on.

Here’s the magic:

With personal responsibility comes personal pride.

The Righteous Path

It feels good to be the hero.

Unfortunately, too many of us are our own worst enemy.

The comforts of the modern world tempt us with distraction and complacency.  Its luxuries seduce us toward hedonism, materialism, and (most insidious) nihilism.

Resistance is righteousness.

YOU ARE THE PROTAGONIST OF YOUR STORY.  MAKE SURE YOU’RE THE GOOD GUY.

“Living your best life” is not chasing pleasure and running from obstacles.  Actually, it’s becoming the best you and choosing a meaningful life.

Face Adversity head on.

It’s inescapable anyway… might as well stand up it.

🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

You might as well stand up to the trials and tribulations—you’ll probably get better results in the short term and (even when you don’t) become a better person in the long term.

And that’s the crux of it.

To live the best life, you have to become the best person you can be.

So look:

There are two sides of personal growth.

• Virtues – Our positive traits.  We all have at least a little bit of “good” in us.  Work on adding new ones and bringing out the ones you already possess.
• Vices – Our negative traits.  The things we wish we weren’t.  Try to suppress them as much as possible.  Better yet, try to eliminate them altogether.

It really is that simple.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy.  It’s your own personal Hero’s Journey, after all.  You’ll undoubtedly encounter huge obstacles and major setbacks.  You’ll probably even run into a monster or two along that way.  All of these only make the story better.

As JBP reminds us, heroes travel through canyons and traverse mountains on their way to the dragon’s den.  Striking the beast down always requires Sacrifices.  And once the prize is won, they bring it home to share it with the people for sustenance and growth.

In the real world, the “dragon” can be internal or external.  Perhaps most often, it masquerades itself as an external problem but actually dwells within us.  Regardless, defeating it makes your life and the world better.

That’s why self development is a moral process.

Ideally, you’d become impeccable, impeachable, unassailable in Character.

Obviously, that’s impossible.

Of course, you’ll still make mistakes.  You’re human.

Perfection isn’t possible so just try to a little bit better every day.

My Personal Growth Posts