Growth

When do we stop growing? Is there a pre-set time?

There are many ways we grow: Obviously there’s physical and mental growth. There’s spiritual and emotional growth. There’s also career growth and personal growth. All of these are developmental i.e. they result in some form of change or evolution.

You might ask, “What’s the difference between career growth and personal growth?”.

Career growth is a purposeful journey through your professional life. It is about the steps you take towards achieving your career vision, from the time you leave school, to your first job, subsequent better jobs, perhaps to attain management then leadership roles. For people who are career-focused, their growth moves along a trajectory that leads them to their professional goals. They must have a sense of purpose along with specific goals in mind when contemplating their long-term career journey.

What then, is personal growth? I think of it as a journey of learning through life, towards becoming a better person (or a worse one, depending on your motivation!). Once you acknowledge that there are always new things to learn, new ways to look at things, new knowledge and skills to obtain, there is always an opportunity for personal growth and development. Personal growth is not necessarily academic or credential-inducing. It is simply the willingness to acquire mental, physical, emotional and spiritual knowledge as you move through life.

Being a life-long learner - being open to recognizing and seizing opportunities large and small, could propel you along your journey of growth, both career and personal.

When you commit to learning, you commit to growing. Then the possibilities of what you can achieve are endless. Your imagination and creativity blossom and your brain allows itself to embrace new things that you might otherwise overlook.

How motivated are you to learn and grow on a daily basis, to stay relevant, perhaps even ahead of the world around you? The next time someone says “Grow up!”, you can decide for yourself how to take them up on their challenge!

In future articles we’ll explore these further, so stay tuned!

Email me: bernadette@gogettercoaching.com .