CULTIVATING GROWTH MINDSET
An adventurous woman enjoying sunset as she pursues self-growth in nature/Credit/Jill Wellington
Life
is busy these days. People are on the move all the time. We are busy doing all
sorts of things. Legal or illegal. And time has become so economical that, most
of us cannot find time to invest in self-growth. We cannot find time to improve
certain areas in our lives that need improvement. It is terrible if you cannot
find time to solve a few problems, which are not work or business. You are so
ingrained in your work or profession that you are always on the move. You
cannot find time to stay still. Whatever is eating into your time, must indeed,
be very important. We are busy looking for money. We are busy looking for the
next best survival approach. While at it, some of us are making risky decisions.
Taking on so much than we can handle. The activities, which people have
incorporated in their lives are breaking them apart.
“Life
must happen.” That is what some say. People just cannot stop for a moment. I
know we are busy for a reason. People have genuine things that are keeping them
busy. But for some, keeping up is a task too. Fighting very hard to please
others. But whatever is keeping you busy, you need to make an executive
decision. Look at your important tasks and responsibilities. Do they deserve
all that time? Self-growth is a choice. Make that choice deliberate. You cannot
grow if, you do not create time to grow. You cannot become your better
self-version if, you do not prioritize. You need to prioritize self-growth and
include it in your everyday activities. It does not matter how much time you
have. The little time you have is enough time you need. In fact, ten minutes of
your busy schedule is perhaps what you need to improve yourself.
Identify the Area of Growth
Ten
minutes is a lot of time to implement simple activities to better yourself.
Self-growth can begin at any time or anywhere. It can begin with you
identifying the area you want to improve. For instance, do you want to become a
better reader? or you want to improve your overall attitude towards other
people. You want to be less judgmental and be more understanding. May be you
also want to increase your empathy, or you just want to be fit. And someone
else maybe wants to be a good parent. Whatever it is, identify it. Name it. all
these things are important. And everyone has something he or she care most
about that he or she wants to nurture. Identify that thing or area you want to
nurture. Then follow that up with a plan of how you would like to implement it
on top of your other important duties and responsibilities.
You
must be clear if, you want to make progress. After being clear, choose your
frequency. How often do you want to perform activities related to the area you
want to nurture? This is important. You must do the work. And I will lay
structure for you. I would like to help you see how much time is ten minutes.
And what can be accomplished using ten minutes. If, you consistently create ten
minutes every day and dedicate those minutes to the area of improvement, you will
do so much. I have a real-life incident that I achieved by just implementing
the ten minutes every day. The event was my area of improvement a few years
ago. I wanted to understand something. And I needed time to poke through
whatever I was poking through to find understanding. I had other things going
on in my life. Competing responsibilities.
My Experience
Some
time back, I wanted to grow myself. I wanted to accomplish this growth using
books. I love books. Books have been my childhood passion and friend for a long
time. I still cherish books. They are my constant, closet resources. I
understand my world using books. For me, books or art in general are more than
entertainment. You learn so much from books, film, music, and art. You learn to
see society and people very clearly. The ability of film or books to reflect
life is one of their important cultural values to the world. So books to me are
sacred. I love them dearly. Because they somehow parented me. I have
practically learned so much from books than from my human parents. So, if I
wanted to understand something, books were the way. Then it happened that I
also had a curiosity.
My
curiosity was about a certain important topic. Perhaps it is the most talked
about topic. Yet, so many people have been misled about the same topic. So, I
needed my own understanding of the subject from the source. I was just tired of
hearing people make these fundamental statements and declarations without full
knowledge or understanding of what they are talking about. I do not enjoy
ignorance. So, I was determined to understand my curiosity through books. By seeking
my own understanding, I was running away from being trapped. From being
limited. To make progress, I questioned one of those statements popularly made
on the topic. That is how my experience with self-growth started. That
questioning, is what led me to a very inspiring personal growth journey. I was
seeking the truth. The understanding that people, who often use the statement
could not readily provide.
Strategy
Had
anyone known that I had questioned something, perhaps I could have been cast
among abominators. But this is the sweetness of self-growth. It is personal.
You are the only one who knows its value and relevance to you. You own it. You
know it. You know how it makes you feel. How it hurts if, it hurts at all. Or
how it pricks you if, it also pricks. This area of improvement is something you
have already thought about. You have marked it as a problem that needs a
solution. Getting to the solution is where work is needed. This is where
commitment is needed. A deliberate plan is required. Actually making it work is
where you will spend your most energy and focus. So, you must be willing to
make sacrifices. You must make your mind accept it and prioritize it. Self-growth
is much more about your mind.
Reading
was my next step to find understanding I was seeking. The reading that I
carried out was either going to prove the statement right or wrong. I wanted to
get the job done. So, I immersed myself into reading. It was a huge task. I had
to read several books. To ensure that every book on the list was read, I needed
a strategy. I had other activities going on while implementing my self-growth
goal. All these things were important to me. I was not going to abandon one of
them. I needed to be sure that I will read the books without affecting my other
responsibilities. Then, I found a working idea. The idea was about where I will
get time to accomplish the goal. It is the ten minutes I talked about earlier.
I learned that I could find ten minutes every day out of my schedule. I tested
the ten-minute strategy. I needed to know that it will deliver.
Create Time to Grow
The
test established that the strategy was efficient. I could learn so much during
that ten-minute window. I immediately incorporated the ten minutes in my
schedule. I had to find ten minutes every day to dedicate them to my new
project. In the process of reading every day for ten minutes, I realized that I
could read one page of the book. In fact, the most important element of this
realization was not just reading an entire page. It was the fact that, I could
read the same page three times. I was looking for understanding. And I wanted a
working strategy that would bring that goal to life. Three times was a good
deal for me, especially if, I needed understanding. This is how three-times
realization worked. My first reading was meant for familiarization. I used the
first two minutes getting to know events on the page.
Commit to the Strategy
My
second round of reading the same page was aimed at capturing activities
happening in the page. People, news, new words, and anything that will capture
my attention. The final round was meant to acquire the message or lesson in the
text. The experience was incredibly, amazing. I enjoyed all of it. By the end
of one and half year, I finished all the books. The ten-minute strategy
delivered. I found the understanding and knowledge I was seeking. I learned a
lot of things on the journey. I found the empowerment. I now had knowledge
about the subject. The knowledge was deeply ingrained in me. No one was going
to take it away from me. Especially after curving out time and working on it. The
popular statement I questioned was cemented through knowledge. I achieved the
goal. I officially, got erased from the list of ignorance.
I
was onto something bigger. I fully understood the topic. And I was not going to
be careless with the statement. I will mean it when I say it. I had knowledge.
And while on the journey, I also learned what people who purport to carry the
message of the topic what they do not tell. The simple truth behind that
subject. That experience changed my life. I became a better person. I know so
much about the subject right now. No one will confuse me about it. No one will
exploit me about it. I will spot the liar upfront. I understand what the
central figure in the subject wants, and hopes for people who pick that path.
The hopes, vision, expectations, and the truth that the main character in the
subject has for the people has not been shared correctly as it should. People
are superficial. They choose the easy part. But the truth, not so much.
Discipline is Needed
I
would not have achieved my self-growth goal without discipline. You need
discipline if, you have to improve anything in your life. Self-growth cannot
materialize without discipline. Finding the area to improve is easy. The
not-so-easy part is committing to the journey, and doing everything required to
achieve the outcome. Imagine spending ten minutes for the next one and half
year. That is a long period. A lot of things can happen on the way. And the
only person who needs to remain in charge is you. So, discipline is the gel to
self-growth. Achieving it successfully will require a lot of commitment. You
must be willing to commit despite distractions and other competing tasks. If,
for sure, self-growth is the goal, then, be willing to pay the price. Work for
it. labor for it. fight for it.
In summary, these are
the things you need to do to successfully achieve self-growth. Identify the
area you want to improve. Develop a goal for the area. Come up with a strategy describing
how you want to achieve the goal. And most important, commit to the strategy.
Be disciplined. If, your area of improvement was to stop being judgmental for
example, then shift your focus from prejudice to knowledge. You need to grow.
Seek information that tells you the truth about things. Do not use societal
stereotypes. Do not use other people’s observations and views. Find your own
views about the matter. Learn the truth about the matter. Don’t begin with hate
before understanding. Start with understanding, then make your decision accordingly.
Deconstruct the lies. To experience self-growth, you must be the person for the
moment. Your level of discipline to get it done must be greater than your
excuses. So, bring discipline to your self-growth journey.
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