The Tribune

ARE YOU are still engaging in unproductive habits and behaviours? Are you still unwilling to cut ties with the lies you are living in?

Well, you may want to assess the degree to which you are experiencing personal growth.

So often, people assess their sense of growth based on the accumulation of things. Yet, getting more stuff in and of itself cannot be a true reflection of personal growth.

Just look at the mass amount of ill-gotten, beautiful things achieved by would be drug dealers, thieves and the like.

Things are often easy to get. As such, the experience of personal growth is a much deeper phenomenon. My simple definition of personal growth is a process of growing yourself from the inside out. This means taking time for self-understanding, developing healthy attitude, habits and quality language that enable you to live an empowered life.

The other great thing about personal growth is the fact that it is personal. It is your choice to grow in ways that best serve your personal objectives.

Here’s a broader definition of personal growth as self-directed improvement on an economic, intellectual, emotional and spiritual level. The key phrase here is ‘self-directed’. This is where personal growth differs; it’s not about the group mentality but a self-directed approach to improving your life because you alone are responsible for the way your life is directed.

Another critical point to note - while change may be inevitable, growth on the other hand must be intentional. Things often change whether we want them to or not. Growth, however, will not just happen. Nobody can make you grow - you must choose to grow.

John Maxwell puts it nicely: to reach your potential you must grow. And to grow, you must be highly intentional. This intentional growth starts with taking small, baby steps on a daily basis.

To experience growth, you must have an intention to grow, which is not a common objective for many. Rather than focus on personal growth, people are more driven towards the acquisition of more stuff. Yet, this treadmill of external pursuits gets tired after a while. Even the very wealthy amongst us come to accept that, after having bought all the things money could buy, money cannot buy them what matters most.

Example: money can buy an enormous house but not a home. Imagine the amount of resources that people direct towards buying an exquisitely decorated house only to find in it there is no peace of mind, no sense of joy or happiness.

Needless to say, life is about way more than this. It is an exciting adventure of growing, understanding your purpose and becoming the person you are born to be. Truth be told, if you are not growing then you are in fact dying. If you are not moving with a sense of purpose, you’ll die long before you are physically dead.

Leader to leader, assess your attitude, habits and behaviours to ensure you are experiencing personal growth. Recognise that you have the power to grow from the inside out. Such growth requires that you do something different, to do more than what you have always done.

At some level all persons who come for counselling or coaching are all yearning to experience something new, something better in their lives. Even though they have achieved much material success, they are still longing for more inner growth. They desire to live a life that is about something bigger, more empowering and more meaningful.

Deep within, you too have this inner yearning to live your own truth - to become your best self. Your personal growth is the way to make this happen. When you grow from the inside out, you are better prepared to live an empowered life. Yes, you can do it!

• What do you think? Michelle M Miller is a certified Life-Coach and Communications/Leadership Expert. Questions or comments can be sent to email coaching242@yahoo.com or telephone 429-6770 or visit www.talktomichellemmiller.com or snail mail to PO Box CB-13060