Any gardener who embarks on pruning his trees and shrubs would tell you: If a plant is not growing, it is busy dying.
And so it is with human beings – it just takes a little longer to notice. Be it in your personal life, your career or your business: the day you stop growing, you are heading for a downhill of decay and eventual death.
Psychologists maintain that people define themselves early in adulthood. They decide who and what they are, and how things should be done. When circumstances change, most people battle to redefine themselves and to change their mindset or their personal psychology.
The world’s most successful businessmen invest in self-growth, even in their old age. One of the world’s most famous businessmen, Warren Buffet, now in his eighties, still believes in constantly improving himself.
The first step in the direction of self-development is to acknowledge that you have reached a crossroads and that the time for change has come. We all have patterns and habits that we have accumulated over the years. Recognise these patterns and decide with ruthless honesty which of them should go.
Step two is to re-define your mission and to make it part of your life, by living it. Ask yourself three questions:
- What is my mission – why am I doing what I am doing?
- What do I need to improve in myself to move me closer to this mission?
- Which skills do I lack to get to my goal?
Now you can get stuck in and add to your skillset, learning from others or enrolling for a formal course. (Prof. Google is at your disposal 24/7!) Be willing to grind and don’t fear failure – it is still the best way to learn!
Be sure to invest in your own fulfilment. The brilliant actor Robin Williams achieved success but ended his own life because he failed himself – he could make everybody happy but himself.
Think of where you are in life and in business and be brave enough to ask yourself the gardener’s question: Have I stagnated, do I need watering or pruning?
Am I growing or am I dying?
