9 areas you need to be IN10TIONAL for your personal growth

Growth is the only thing that can guarantee a better tomorrow but calls for your commitment today. John Maxwell says it like this “Leaders grow daily, not in a day”. 

In order to be a well-balanced individual you should be focusing on 3 key areas of growth – spiritually, personally, and professionally.

Below are 9 examples of each area, along with quotes to motivate you.

SPIRITUALLY

1. Know your worth

Fred Rogers said,

“If you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of.  There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with every person.”

Knowing your worth starts with knowing who you are, what gifts you possess, and what you can bring to the table – as a Christian this is found in the Bible.  This is a journey that entails not only reading it but in meditating and making daily affirmations so that your thoughts align with whom God says you are and what He says you can do. It is also your passion, your purpose and your superpower that forms your personality. 

In grade 7 I was honored to be part of the leadership of the primary school I was attending. In a meeting, in a small classroom, our principal at the time, Mr. Erasmus made this powerful statement that forever changed my life, “The best gift you can give yourself is to get to know yourself.” Something he wished that someone would have told him earlier in life and that is why he is telling us now. Even at the age of 12 I realised the weight of that statement, the responsibility of that statement but also the world of possibilities that just opened up because of that statement. “This is something I should work on”, I decided, not knowing where to start I decided to start anyways, and so the journey began getting to know myself. 

Growth in the area of knowing your worth and getting to know yourself will be two-fold; spiritual as well as personal.  As you grow you will begin to see that your personality, your aspirations, and overall make-up, was designed so that only you can do what you were born to do.

2. Speak up

“Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no-ones definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein

There are constantly voices speaking around you, your own, the voice of enemies in your life, and the voice of God.  Each voice is vying for your attention. It does however remain your choice who’s voice you are going to respond to and which voice will speak up.  The Word of God describes it so beautifully “What the heart is full of the mouth speaks”.  In other words what you fill your heart with, your mouth will speak. Affirming what God says is the gateway that allows for His voice to influence your life. Affirmations are sayings or verses you speak into the atmosphere around you; words that have the ability to create as well as silence every other voice. What voices do you need to silence and what voices need to speak up?

3. Get knowledge and understanding

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

To grow in every aspect of your life – read, listen to, study and develop a habit of being curious. Awaken the curiosity on the inside of you, there is a world of knowledge just waiting to be discovered and enrich your life. 

To the Christian who reads the Bible, it’s the road map that shows you through parables and sayings, as well as the mistakes of others which decisions lead to success and which decisions lead to failure. 

PERSONAL

4. Be like Nike and just do it

“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time.  Until you value your time you will not do anything with it.” – M. Scott Peck

When you value yourself, you will begin to value your time, because you know what time is worth. Time is the only asset given that we can never get back.  When we procrastinate we are not only being poor stewards of the time that we are given, but we waste time not living our best lives. Just do it – time is made to be spent.  Time, I mean spend it well. 

5. DO it afraid

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” – Jack Canfield.

In 2013 I sat down at the John Maxwell Table in Orlando Florida, to become a Certified Coach, I remember the centrepiece read “DO IT AFRAID” – It spoke directly to me, and gave me some comfort as fear was about the only thing I felt in that moment. Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of not having enough experience and the list goes on. No matter what your background or belief system, fear stifles your growth.  Overcoming fear will require that you not wait for the emotion to pass, but do what fears you in spite of how you feel.  SO.. I DID IT AFRAID !

 

Fear is something we learn as life happens.  Sometimes we learn it from watching our parents act out their own fears or by what they say or, we learn it when we experience something that causes us great pain that we never want to experience again.

No matter where the source, fear stems from a strong belief that something may happen without any actual evidence that it will. 

Due to how strong the belief is, fear is a stubborn thing to overcome.  It requires that you not only renew your mind but also that you put action into facing your fears. As you do, just like building your self-esteem, you will grow in more ways that one.

6. Be more resilient

“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” – Robert Jordan.

According to the Oxford dictionary the definition of the word resilient is – the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.  It’s the ability to bend like the wind.  The opposite is to stand stubbornly like the oak and not allow the trials of life to shape you positively. 

Growing your resilience will not only help you adapt to the storm you’re in but allow you to appreciate the journey you’re on.

PROFESSIONAL

7. Improve your emotional quotient

“75% of careers are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies, including the inability to handle interpersonal problems; unsatisfactory team leadership during times of difficulty or conflict; or inability to adapt to change or elicit trust.” – Centre for creative leadership.

Empathy is the ability to see something through the eyes of another person so that you are able to respond appropriately.  Sympathy is feeling pity.  To improve your EQ, you will have to develop empathy.

Simon Sinek believes that Empathy is the first criteria for being a good leader.  Empathy is the ability to recognize and share other people’s feelings and one of the most important tools a leader, boss or manager can possess to establish trust and perspective.

Dale Carnegie understood how to develop it when he said,

“When dealing with people remember that you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”

8. Improve your attitude

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude,” – Maya Angelou.

Despite what you may tell yourself when you want to have mood swings or change with the weather, your attitude has nothing to do with your external environment and everything to do with a choice. 

When you choose to develop this area, it will require that you do constant attitude checks.  The way you do this is by watching the words you say.  Constant complaining or having a “woe is me” chatter are signs that your attitude needs some adjustment. Create an atmosphere of positivity around you. In the famous book from Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking he speaks about good friend of his that has this statement written on the back of his business card that has brought him and his wife for many years.

It reads as follows: 

“The way to happiness: keep your heart free from hate, your mind free from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will be surprised”

… what are you still waiting for?

9. CPD

CPD stands for continual professional development.  In a lot of jobs it is required in order to keep up to speed with industry standards and regulations that are constantly changing. 

To grow in this area, you must be IN10TIONAL about making yourself teachable.

If you’re unhappy about your current job, construct a career path, and list what you would need to learn to make you suited for that future position. Download my E-Book on Living a life of Purpose. This might be the roadmap you need to professional success. 

“Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.” – Brian Tracey

Growth needs not be painful.  Think of it as an exciting new challenge.  As you look through what seems like a daunting list of knowing your worth, doing it afraid, and continually developing yourself, keep in mind that Rome was not built in a day. 

Choose one thing at a time and be IN10TIONAL about being the best version of yourself you can be!