|
|
|
Are You Stymied? By speaker and author, Colette Carlson, MA We hear about sales growth, profit growth, asset growth, but of all the things that can have an effect on your future, I believe personal growth is the greatest. Then again, I would think that. Why? I struggled with a lack of personal growth for years. Your personal growth isn’t something that is measured in cash or flash. It’s measured in a mental, physical and emotional state. When you deny your needs on any of these levels, you’re out of balance – like a car that’s hit a deep pothole in the road and is suddenly out of alignment. On the balance wheel of personal growth, there are pizza pie slices (remember, I’m a foodie!) that represent parts of your life: family, self-care (reading, haircuts, quiet time), work, spirituality, relationships, health (exercise, sleeping, eating nutritious foods), fun and financial. These are all parts of the whole you. Now, if you neglect a part of you, how do you expect to grow and mature? Put it this way, you’ve planted a tree and as it grows, you keep going out there and hacking off all the branches on the right side. Sure, that tree will sprout up and continue to grow, but won’t it look funny and out of balance with only branches on the left side? Yes, it’s growing but it’s not thriving and reaching its potential beauty because you keep coming along and stymieing its attempts at reaching greatness in the personal growth department. If you’re an entrepreneur, you might immediately think that a phone call or a sales call is ‘growth’ because it reflects financial growth and growth for the company. But did you know that without you in the equation, there’d be no company? Shouldn’t you be more important than the sales figures and the asset growth? Shouldn’t you spend more time everyday reflecting on your assets rather than the company’s? We’re all the same, you know. We all want to be loved and we all have self-doubts. We all need the same things, too, self-acceptance and self-love. These are requirements in order to grow as human beings and to accept our place in the universe. In order to be a better husband/wife/sibling/child/friend/employee we need to love ourselves enough to realize that we are deserving of happiness. Not spending enough time with your family? Make the time. Don’t think you’re a very good friend? Clam up and listen. Not just to your friends but to your inner thoughts. Our minds tell us what we need but we’re so busy go, go, going that we don’t take the time to sit and meditate on our wants and needs. Want and need to be better to your loved ones? Be better to yourself and watch it all unfold! When you take the time to de-stress and count your blessings and assets, you’re taking stock of your life and unwinding. Adjust your behavior. Like Oprah says, “There’s no time like the present to do what you want to do.” You’ll soon find this type of thing is addictive because it boosts your confidence. So what if you didn’t make a home-cooked meal tonight? Don’t guilt yourself! Seek connection, not perfection. Use that extra time to sit with your family and play a board game or watch TV. Then, as you feel yourself relaxing, take a long look inside yourself and realize that you’re the best that you are at that exact moment but you will get better for yourself when you want to. Each day, take the time to acknowledge your personal greatness and then do something for you – whether it’s patting yourself on the back for cutting up fruit for the kids or walking on the treadmill, you need to own up to your unique you and what you’re capable of. Not just creating another opportunity, project or sale, but selling yourself the truth - your truth, which is, “I’m the best me I can be right now.” Your life won’t be measured by which car you drove or what meal you made last night. No one will remember that about you. They will remember the smile you walked around with and the time you took to relax and enjoy life. It’s not about your career and employment. Once again, that’s just a slice of the pizza. YOU are the pizza – improved! You’re non-caloric! You’re the luscious, warm and desired treat that everyone loves and the sooner you acknowledge that, the sooner you can enjoy yourself, guilt-free! Articles may be reproduced with permission from Colette Carlson Communications. |
 
       
|
