Tony Robbins is fond of saying “if you aren’t growing, you’re dying.”
There is a lot of truth to that statement. Most people I know do not make a concerted effort to improve themselves from a personal growth standpoint. They want to get wealthy, have more muscles, less fat, a better relationship (or a relationship period) and all that….but they rarely apply themselves to improve the fundamentals of their persona. The things (behaviors, thought patterns, emotional responses, raw skills, etc.) that will actually help them achieve those wants and needs. Instead they rely on dumb luck and a feeling of entitlement that means they deserve everything and more without having to work for it.
Personal growth can be boiled down to making a conscious effort to improve your ability to consistently make proper decisions and follow through on those decisions in any aspect of your life. Making proper decisions is a relative statement…relative to each individual person. It requires you to understand the situation you are in, where you want to go and why it matters. It also requires commitment and practice, since making decisions is not just a logical formula, but requires the intellect, physiology and emotional behaviors to all act in accord to a common goal.
If you had the ability to make the proper (e.g. best, right, correct, appropriate…..choose your term) decision at any point in time, and always follow through….you’d pretty much be guaranteed to have an outstanding life and make a huge positive impact on the world. If I had the chance to have any superpower….this would be it! This is why I am committed to personal growth.
Why does personal growth matter at all? A few reasons:
- The Universe is defined in terms of progress. Mountains are created and eroded. The earth moves around the sun. Species are evolving. We are evolving as a race….like it or not..and if you aren’t, you will fall behind.
- Learning new things and making progress feels good. Kids are learning new things on a daily basis, and spend most of their time having fun….why shouldn’t you?
- Developing yourself as a person (in terms of decision making capability and emotional maturity) is a highly leveraged thing…it will help you in many aspects of your life and in many specific activities….big and small.
- Life is ultimately not about you…..it’s about your ability to make a difference in the lives of others. The more capable you are (in every way), the bigger your ability will be to teach, support (monetarily) and motivate others to have better and more enjoyable lives.
I could go on and on with reasons why personal growth is important…but I would rather hear from you. Why are you committed to personal growth?
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Why? What else is there to do? We might as well learn something new, do something crazy or create something exciting in life.