Growth - the most important skill you need to master.

Photo by name_ gravity 

I’m going to start by saying that this is arguably the most important thing you should ever invest in. 

Why? Because I believe that we should never stop

Obviously I bodies will, and unfortunately mine stopped when I was around 13yo at 5ft 1in. But our mindset, our emotional intelligence, our mental wellbeing and our values and opinions about life and the world — this are things that we should all strive to grow AND seek to evolve as we go through life.

It’s easy to get stuck in our ways as we get older, I see many people do this constantly, thinking they know it all, thinking they don’t need to change or seek out new ideas or information - how many times have you heard other people say “Well I’ve always done it like that and it’s never been a problem before!”

But here’s the thing, information, ideas and knowledge are always changing, and I think that if we know better we can do better, not just for ourselves but for the world around us. There’s also evidence that when learn new things like a language it keeps our brains healthy for longer too.

We can also have better, stronger, more meaningful connections and relationships with people when we invest in our personal growth. We can see a different side of someones story and we can learn about new ways to communicate and respect each other.

Growth also means trying out new things or different ways to complete a task or solve a problem - if something has gone wrong for you before then being open to a new way of doing it can bring so much expansion. 

There is however a few problems with growth.

It could get uncomfortable, it could mean facing up to a hard truth or admitting you were wrong. It could mean saying goodbye to something before welcoming something new or it could mean saying no, which is one of the hardest things you can do (but also incredibly liberating!).

I promise you though, once you smooth out the bumpy bits about growth you will then reap the rewards. One of my kids decided recently that they were going to try a new food every week for a month, they were quite a fussy eater but they felt determined to do it. So with lots encouragement they picked something each week to try and by the end of the month something amazing happened, they found something new they liked and it opened them up to lots of different meals and recipes they wanted to try.

This little project wasn’t easy, they had to overcome some fears and not everything they tried they like but the end result was that we now have some new dishes we can eat as a family which has been so rewarding for everyone — growth!!!

It really is a skill, something that needs constant practice but the feeling of transcending into a better version of yourself every time you practice it is so rewarding, plus when others see your personal growth it has a ripple effect on them too, win/win all round.