I love personal growth. I truly do. But if you had talked to me about personal growth a year and a half ago, I would have looked at you like you had 15 eyeballs.
Up until that point, I was just living my life. I was decently happy, my marriage/kids/job were good, and I just thought that was it. Things were fine.
But once I discovered personal growth was a THING, it became clear to me that “good” wasn’t ever going to be good enough again. Good wasn’t GREAT, and there was so much room for improvement in myself, my family, my work life, my fitness…everywhere.
Starting to run and starting this blog were the two things that changed everything else for me.
Why am I so into this personal growth thing, and why do I think you should be too? Glad you asked.
1. It’s actually personal.
That’s right…my journey doesn’t have to (and won’t!) look like yours. We will grow, learn, and change in different ways, at different paces, and it’s all still personal growth. Blogging and running started me down the personal growth path, and you may never do either one of those. That’s the beauty in this. There’s so many ways to “do” personal growth, and we all get to choose our own path.
2. There’s no right or wrong way.
There are no rules in personal growth. We don’t have to agree on what personal growth looks like, feels like, or how to define it. No one gets to come tell you how you should do this. Sure, you might want some good book or podcast recommendations from others who are into personal growth. But those resources are just ideas, not the only way to do it.
3. Failure is finally okay.
All my life, I lived in fear of failure. I had to have the best grades. I panicked when I didn’t understand something the first 13 seconds I was exposed to it. I cried over any incident where I messed up. Sometimes, I suffered from anxiety…because the pressure to be perfect was just too much. But with personal growth, you learn that failure it okay. Actually, it’s more than okay. Suddenly, you find yourself believing that failure is the best pathway to true growth. Failure still doesn’t feel good to me. It probably never will. But now I know that when I fail, I’m actually learning.
4. It’s easier to be happy.
There are three things about personal growth that help me find happiness.
a. Fitness
When I’m working out regularly, drinking water, and thinking at least a bit about my eating habits, I am happier. I can see it so clearly–when I run, I feel more content, less anxious, and have a better outlook. When I stop running for several days, I find myself having worse days and a bad attitude.
b. Gratitude
Another component of personal growth that keeps me focusing on the good is gratitude. It is so easy for me to get sucked into negativity–but when I know I’ll be writing down things I’m grateful for, I tend to see more of the positive things around me. And that makes me a happier person.
c. Morning Routine
One of the things that profoundly changed me was starting a morning routine. I went from being frazzled, late, and anxious every single morning (which left me feeling defeated before I even truly started my day) to feeling like I had a good handle on my day well before my kids even woke up. By starting my day early and starting my day the same way each day, my anxiety lessened significantly, leaving me a happier and healthier person.
5. It’s a lifelong process, and never boring!
The best thing about personal growth is that you’re never done learning and growing. There will forever be something to work toward–and that keeps life exciting. 2019 was such an interesting and fun year for Brandon and me, simply because we were always stepping out into the unknown! It didn’t make it easy (actually, it was so much WORK!!!!), but it took our lives from feeling like “same ol, same ol” to a true adventure.
Here’s to another year of personal growth!!
