Choose Conscious Growth

I know what you’re thinking. “I’m growing every day, and I’m conscious of it. Five years ago I was only 5 feet tall.”

Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of growth I’m talking about.

I’m talking about mental growth. Growth you actively choose when you decide to confront areas of fear and unfamiliarity in your life. Growth you choose when you decide to learn a new skill.

Each one of us has our own share of fear that holds us back in one way or another. Think about one area in your life that you can’t muster up the courage to confront. Perhaps it’s dating or public speaking. Maybe you have insecurity issues, and are unable to stand up to your co-workers, peers, or friends.

Regardless of your specific situation, the fear of getting up and facing the issue at hand is inhibiting your progress towards overall happiness and fulfillment in your life. Keep in mind, when I say fulfillment I mean in an overall sense of the word (financially, emotionally, physically, relational, spiritually).

Keep Life Moving

Feel like every day is just more of the same? You may be stuck on a plateau.

New skills are necessary to keep the growth process moving in our lives. If we stick with the same skill set for too long, we may reach a growth plateau. We will no longer be improving the quality of our lives. You must choose to step out of your comfort zone in search of new skills.

Spend time on inner reflection. You will notice there are many things in life you would love to do, but just haven’t found the time for yet. Make time to do these things, no matter how trivial they may seem. You may have to acquire new skills in order to complete the tasks in mind. If this is the case, you have a variety of options at your disposal. You can attend an informative seminar, read books on the topic, or make new friends who are skilled in your area of interest. Dive right in and completely immerse yourself.

Personal Experience

When I described my goals this summer to my friend Anil, he called it “The Summer of Rahul”. I’ve chosen to learn a number of new skills and perspectives this summer, and it’s been an exciting experience.

6 months ago I was having a discussion with one of my closest friends about self-defense. At the time, I didn’t feel like I could adequately protect myself or my loved ones if a situation ever arose, and I was confused about which path I should take to solve this problem. My friend, a member of the Marine Corps, suggested I learn martial arts.

Almost instantaneously I was turned off by the thought of the time commitment involved with learning a martial art. However, I chose to look past this initial apprehension, and focused on how great the journey could be instead.

At the beginning of summer, I enrolled at a local Kuk Sool Won school. This martial art has everything I’m looking for: grappling, self-defense techniques, joint-locking techniques, and much, much more. Basically, if I master all of the skills taught in Kuk Sool Won, I’ll be ready to contend in the UFC (okay, I’m pushing it). I’ve found something I can commit to for the rest of my life.

I spend a lot of time at Barnes and Noble reading books I find interesting. Books provide me with new perspectives on life. When I’m reading a great book, I have many “ah-ha!” moments. I appreciate these moments, because from that point onwards, my life is never the same. I look at things differently and lead my life in a different way. Here’s an example of one of those moments.

Last week I was reading the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. While reading the book, I gained a whole new perspective on personal finance. I now spend my money in a completely different way. I now spend less money on useless luxuries, and instead save the money to build up my asset column, or invest it in something more worthwhile, like a great book!

A Few Suggestions to Get You Moving

All of us are busy with the burdens of daily life. We have work, school, and chores to take care of. We Americans lead a monotonous lifestyle. We wake up, go to work/school, come home, spend time with the family, go to sleep, and then repeat.

It’s easy to slip into this mindless routine, and forget the single most important truth about life. Life is about growth and enjoyment; it’s about experiencing and learning new things. If we are constantly doing the same work day in and day out, we will only have more of the same. We will not grow, we will not live life to the fullest, and we will not become healthy, well-rounded individuals.

How do you prevent this from happening?

• Choose to learn new skills and take on new challenges in life (a new sport, Toastmasters, martial arts, dancing, painting, singing, writing)
• Choose to step outside of your comfort zone and confront the unknown
• Choose to take time out of your busy day and read a book you find interesting (a book on real estate, cooking, spirituality, religion, communication, negotiation)
• Choose to attend an informative seminar and equip yourself with all of the knowledge you could possibly need on a particular subject (a seminar on women and dating, time management, public speaking, pottery, facing fear)

Once you finish reading this article, I want you to think of something you have always wanted to do, and go out and do it as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s small and insignificant. Taking action means progress. It means progress towards growth and fulfillment. Once you complete this task, choose something else you have always wanted to do, and repeat the process. This is a surefire formula for improving the quality of your life.

Although you may not realize it right away, you will soon be astonished by the amount you have developed through this process of conscious growth. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your life passion along the way.

Photo by guldfisken

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