There are so many plant references around personal growth but bear with me here.... behold my droopy cactus.
Normally, it is upright and perky. This picture is just following a good bath and in no time, it will be refreshed, standing tall again.
Two years ago, I was certainly feeling like my droopy cactus. I needed a refresh. I wasn't in a place of growth and I struggled to know what would be next for me.
My youngest son was in all-day kindergarten. I was successfully working as a business analyst and project manager in technology. I had met all my personal and professional goals that I defined for my career but I still had half my career left! I didn't want to do more of the same for all that time - I was looking to define the next challenge and grow.
In order to refresh myself, I read blogs, listened to podcasts and connected with others to hear their stories. I connected a former colleague, who moved into executive coaching and got started right away working with her. I was ready to make some changes and challenge myself to grow toward what would be next.
I didn't know exactly where I was headed but each month, I identified some action items for accountability and got to the business of being a student of myself. It sounds strange but I had to determine what motivated me again. I had to figure out what excited me now and ultimately what was most important to me for the second half of my career (and life).
Being a student of myself was hard work. But I knew that I was on the right path toward something more. That investment in myself led me to be much more intentional in my growth journey and that has touched every area of my life. Each monthly action moved the needle further for me.
I began to think, "how can I do this better?" and "what could that look like if I tried it?". I explored and then took action.
Tony Robbins says, "Where focus goes, energy flows."
As a result, the last 18 months have been months of monumental growth.
For the last 6 months, I have had TWO coaches and TWO accountability partners and I have seen more growth and personal development than I could have ever achieved on my own.
Seem like overkill? I am looking to do big things! That requires big action.
I didn't want to feel like a droopy cactus any longer. Sure, that cactus would likely live a long time before completely wilting but that doesn't allow for growth and it wouldn't thrive that way. I wanted to invest in myself and get excited to build out my path forward that included growth and thriving.
Can you relate? Are you ready for growth?
Do you need to do some investment in yourself in order to be refreshed for your work, for your family, for your life? Do you need to be a student of yourself for awhile?
Do you want to make intentional changes to develop a new skill or push for a promotion? Do you want to level up your relationships? Do you want take steps to live a more healthy lifestyle? Do you want to start a business? Do you want to be more purposeful in your spiritual life? Do you want to have a more organized home?
The tagline for my work is "In All Things, Think Growth" because I know that with focused action you will experience growth. You can experience growth in all aspects of your life.
Growth requires you to take action.
Maybe two coaches and two accountability partners is a bit much for you - that's ok!
Purposeful action will provide the momentum to continue.
Your growth journey does not require the final destination to be defined or all the steps identified. The destination may be unknown and the growth comes as you take just the next step toward it.
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