A question for us all right up front: How much better are we today at what we do for a living, than we were 12 months ago? Are we really any better at all? If so, are we significantly better, or just a little bit (unnoticeable to most) better? Have we even thought about it? Are we even really trying to get better?
Remember the 1993 movie Ground Hog Day where Bill Murray plays an arrogant and egocentric Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during an assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, finds himself in a time loop, repeating the same day, again and again? Initially, he feels trapped and frustrated. He doesn’t understand why he is forced to live the same day over and over and over. After indulging in hedonism and numerous suicide attempts, he begins to re-examine his life and priorities.
Only when he changes his thinking and perspective does he ultimately break out of the loop. He realizes he needs to learn from the people and events around him; to focus on others, help them rather than just helping himself, and generally become a better person. Only then does he wake up to a new day…February 3rd.
If we were to think about it, how many of us might say we can relate? How many of us feel like we relive the same day over and over again? Yes, they are different days of the week, with slightly different tasks we need to complete. But really, we are struggling with the same challenges, trying to solve the same problems, striving to achieve the same goals day after day after day.
How do we break out of this? Grow! Get better! When we change ourselves, it also changes how we see and experience the world around us so it doesn’t feel like the same day over and over again. Tomorrow is a new and better day, because we’re a better person, if we grow.
So how do we make sure we don’t live the same day over and over again?
Here are 5 steps:
1. Make growth a priority. If we don’t make personal development a priority, it won’t happen. It’s that simple. If we don’t focus on growth, we’re going to live the same day over and over and over again. I’ve heard it said that a major difference between successful and unsuccessful people, is their attitude about growth. Successful people make growth a priority.
2. Be intentional about growth and personal development. John Maxwell, the world renowned leadership expert says, “Growth doesn’t just happen, it must be intentional.” We have to decide to grow. I’ve heard it said that ‘with age comes wisdom.’ But I’ve seen a lot of times where ‘age came all by itself.’ Many people believe that experience is the best teacher, but that’s not true. Only evaluated experience teaches us anything at all. And to evaluate experience, we have to be intentional about it. Otherwise, experience is just experience. So we must decide to grow and develop ourselves.
3. Pick a specific area of knowledge or skill to develop. Don’t try to just generally get better. Pick a very specific area or two to focus on. Especially in today’s world, we only have so much ‘attention’ we can focus with and only so much time we can invest. So pick key areas of knowledge or skill (don’t try to change who you are) that you think can most benefit you.
4. Create a plan that includes a number of resources. No one person or one program can teach you everything you will want to learn on a particular subject. So buy a couple books, get an audio or video series, join a group focused on the topic, and/or take a course. Whatever you can do and afford, do it. (For more here, see Darren Hardy’s program below.)
5. Start now. I’ve certainly learned that, at least in my life, there is never the ‘right time’ to make a change or start something. There is always something else on the calendar or the to-do list that I could/should do. The biggest challenge, as well as the most important step, is to start. Once you get started, you can make adjustments. But as someone much smarter than me said, “You can’t steer a parked car.” So get started now. Pick one thing you can do right now, and do it.
Questions: Are you intentional about your personal growth? Do you know the areas in which you want to improve? And do you have a plan to make it happen?
For those who want to take it further, here’s a link to Darren Hardy’s (publisher and founding director of SUCCESS magazine) 1-1-5-3-1-30-30-5 plan for personal growth. It’s got a funny name, but it’s a really good approach.
