Do you wish to enhance your personal growth? Well, in order for you to be able to lead a happy and successful life, enhancing your personal growth is a must. Growth is all about getting better. Personal growth helps you to develop better life strategies to cope with whatever life throws your way. It calls for persons to strategically and intentionally make a step towards developing self to become better than they are. It also comes with the ability of persons to add value even when they think they are doing well.
If you are desirous of enhancing your personal growth, here are some things worth considering:
A change of attitude: Attitude is everything. It is often the first thing people notice about you.It is the foundation and support for everything you do. It determines whether you are living life or whether life is living you – whether you are on the way or in the way.It is the key element in the process of controlling your destiny. Therefore, the greatest hindrance of one’s personal growth is one’s attitude. Hence,one of the biggest steps to personal growth is change of attitude. Your former attitude of contentment has to be dealt with immediately. You cannot develop this skill while lingering in a comfort zone of who you are. You have to put away phrasessuch as”that’s who I am.” Deal with it because that is one of the biggest hindrances to personal growth. You will have to take time to adjust your mindset and attitude to learning new things and changing old belief systems that serve to hold you back. When your attitude improves, so do your circumstances.
Boost your self- esteem: Self-esteem is extremely essential for you to be successful at both professional and personal levels. Self-esteem is all about how you value, love and accept yourself. Building self-esteem and self- confidence is the key to your happiness and will enable you to live life to the fullest. Therefore, learn to develop your self-esteem in order to enhance your personal growth.
Lead life with integrity: Listen to your conscience and inner wisdom and try to lead your life with integrity. Living with integrity is easier than living a deceitful life. So avoid indulging in unethical practices. Theywill cause you to end up feeling guilty and your conscience will constantly haunt you. Living with integrity brings wholeness and peace. Your conscience can rest easy, and you can look at yourself in the mirror with pride.
Learn to give:As the Bible says, it is better to give than to receive. Sodo something to help others. This will give you a greater sense of satisfaction and self- worth. Learn to love others and volunteer to help and assist them in whatever small way you can. The satisfaction derived from helping others can greatly boost your self-esteem and feeling of self-worth.
Learn to forgive: Never hold a grudge against someone. It robs you of your joyand createsa burden which pulls you down constantly. Life is too short to waste away on petty things. Therefore, learn to forget any bitter incident and forgive the people behind it.
Take time out for self-assessment: Take time to evaluate yourself in every process. The scariest thing in the world is meeting who we really are. You cannot grow without knowing who you are and what you are all about. This assessment will give you the desire to change and deal with weaknesses that hinder you from personal growth.
Dig deep inside you: Do you have the feeling that you are capable of doing and being more? Well, you have more potential than you are currently tapping into. Begin to see the invisible so that you can do the impossible. Do not allow fear to hold you back. You have the power to bridge the gap between who you are and who you want to be.
Handle your frustrations: One of the first choices you need to make is to shift away from being a victim and from saying things like: “Why me?” or “Why did this have to happen?” Being a victim wastes your time and energy and often leaves you feeling even more frustrated. Instead, make the shift to tapping into your own resourcefulness and discover solutions. Part of the reason we often stay stuck and frustrated is that we don’t believe we can do something about it. You are more resourceful than you think.
The first step is to identify specifically what you are feeling frustrated about. Specifically naming your frustration is half the battle. Once you have identified this specifically,then become an observer of yourself. This is an opportunity to observe what is going on without judgement, and will enable you to make effective choices. As an observer, you will often see a different perspective. Take note of what you most need, what is truly important to you and what it will take to move forward quickly. Pay attention to yourself. Do not allow the talk and the chatter that are going on in your mind, to keep you stuck.
One of the best ways to be an observer, and to see the situation more clearly, is to take a break. Once you have stepped back from the frustration, you will find it easier to tap into your creativeness and come up with ideas and solutions. Tap into the creative and resourceful part of yourself by asking empowering questions such as: “What is important to me about this?”, “What is the intended result?”, “What choices are available to me?”, or “What is the next action I need to take?” When you are asking these questions, listen carefully for your own response. This is where your own personal resourcefulness will show up and give you the answers and solutions to enable you to move forward. You will quickly move beyond the frustration and get back to achieving what you want.
Enhancing your personal growth is the best favour you can do to yourself. If taken seriously, it willyield great dividends.
Remember: You don’t need to change the world; you need to change yourself.” Miguel Ruiz.
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington, Anguilla. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com. Referrals can also be made directly through the Atlantic Star Center of Medical Excellence, South Hill, Anguilla. By Appointment Only: Tel 497-0765
