Change is Inevitable. Growth is Optional - John C Maxwell
The emphasis on Goal setting and Goal achieve is synonymous with success, tools like SMART, M.I.T, Time Log, Pomodoro and other Techniques are shared by trainers and coaches to drive learning and practice. However achieving a goal in itself is incomplete, it is what the person as become while achieving the goal is what takes the person beyond success into significance.
Life Principle
We have all learned that the caterpillar just doesn't come out of the cocoon, but it becomes a butterfly, as nature intended it to be. Likewise nature's intention from us is to become the best version of ourselves as we transition from one season of life to the next by achieving our goals.
Life is dynamic, not static. It is ever moving forward and not standing still. The one unpardonable sin of nature is to stand still and stagnate. For Humankind, a personal growth plan is the way to access the unlimited resources hidden in the “Life Principle”,
Many times our fixed identity that steams from our Goals in life limits our potential to access this infinite life force within everyone.
Goal Mindset
In no way am I implying that having a Goal is bad or chasing a goal is wrong, just that a Goal by itself is incomplete without Growth. The fixed mindset is an attribute of the goal mindset. Goal mindset doesn't account for all the different components of personhood while trying to achieve the goal, whereas growth accounts for the different areas of personal growth.
A goal-mindset sees the goal as the achievement, while the growth-mindset sees what they are becoming as a result of achieving the goal.
Even in the end result there is a difference in satisfaction, and sense of accomplishment. Many times, once the adrenaline of achieving the goal wears off, there is a lack of direction that many goal centric people feel. Because goal centric people miss growing the required skills, knowledge, character, relationships, self awareness and spirituality to sustain the goal that they have achieved.
Achieving the goal by becoming the person worthy to wield that goal is the sustainability factor that allows a person to celebrate life.
Leadership & Goal Mindset
At work, people might feel things are just activities and task, so they get into the goal achieving mode and many a times end up coming out as a worm instead of a butterfly. Unable to embrace the beauty of life, because the desired satisfaction or the required tools/resources is not developed to sustain the goals that are achieved along the way.
You must have noticed people at work who are so focused on becoming the positional leader in the organization that they would relentlessly chase it for years, and finally they would get it. But within a short while, they are unhappy with it, complaining about their teams and how management didn’t give enough resources for the role, etc. however the real reason for this disgruntled feeling is they didn't grow their leadership skills over the years. They not only bring down productivity, but also damage the culture of the organization.
Like many others, I too have found myself in similar situations earlier on in my career. Realizing the limitation of a goal mindset, I now not only practice a growth mindset, but also share with others the importance of a growth mindset and how it will ultimately pay dividend in significance for every goal achieved.
Catch-22
I have often heard people acknowledge the importance of personal growth, but resign from taking any action because they feel they are late in life to start a personal growth journey. I call this the Personal Growth Catch-22 Standoff.
I am sure, at some point in life, you must have pondered 'How can I get any experience until I get a job that gives me experience?', if so, that is a catch-22 situation!
So basically a catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. (The term was coined by Joseph Heller, who used it in his 1961 novel Catch-22)
It is never too late to be who you might have been. - George Eliot
Similarly, how can you become the best version of yourself tomorrow, without getting on an intentional personal growth plan today? We all want to be great, therefore we strive so hard to achieve the goals we set. But achieving the goal is only half the battle won, the next part is how we move with it and move forward from it. Here are some small ideas that can help you get out of the catch-22 situation of personal growth.
There is no such things as luck
Luck is not a strategy, neither is hope. definitely we need both, but they are not a strategies for intentionally living. It is common for people seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck. They do not see the trails and failures, and the struggles which these individuals have voluntarily encountered in order to realize the vision of their heart. The darkness and heartache is not seen, but they only see the light and joy, and call it luck.
In all human affairs there is efforts and there is results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. - James Allen
So if you want to intentional grow ask yourself, are your banking on luck or on your efforts ?
Take Control of Your Own Life
Happiness is a choice, it is not something that magically happens to you, it is the outcome of small intentional choices made daily to be happy. You control all your decisions. Whenever you give control to someone else, you cease to be master of your own fate. Whenever you take personal responsibility for your actions, you maintain control. Take responsibility and you'll hold the tiller of your life's ship. If it is to be it is up to you.
If you don't run your own life, someone else will. - John Atkinson
As a person who desires to grow, it is imperative that you take control of your life. You can start by thinking of a time when you took responsibility for a bad result or a mistake. How did it make you feel to own up to your actions?
Heaven Never Helps Anyone
More than 2000 years ago The Greek philosopher Sophocles uncovered the secret to success that is heaven Never Helps the person who will not act. Even Today this remains the ultimate test for person desiring to succeed. And if the key to success today was the same as it was 2000 years ago, rest assured it will be true for the next 2000 years.
You don't drown by falling in the water . You drown by staying there - Edwin Louis Cole
Action speak louder than words . Always have and always will! It is just a fact of life. What does your action speak about you?
Action Steps:
How have you grown as a person by achieving a recent Goal?
If there is anyone in your team, stuck at a place because they achieved a goal but didn't grow as a person, share with them the importance of growth and help them identify and take action in an area they need to grow to better handle the new goal they achieved.
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