There is a certain period in life that is widely accepted as the “finding yourself” period. This is the time when one is supposed to throw caution to the wind; do whatever feels right and somewhere along the way figure out what the hell you’re supposed to do with the rest of your life.
Somehow, you are supposed to get hit with an epiphany of your calling. It’s as if the mindset is that if you just “be” and let things happen, everything will fall into place. Go with the flow – what will be will be – it is what it is – and all that jazz.
I may come under serious fire for saying this but you know me…
Finding yourself is a load of CRAP!
I realize that the term “finding yourself” is not really meant to be taken literally; however, it has certainly lost its true meaning. In fact, it is kind of an oxymoron since I don’t believe that you were lost in the first place. Finding anything requires that it must first be lost. What makes more sense is that we can GROW.
The way we grow and change is completely up to us. Your personal growth is your responsibility and it will not happen if you just simply be. You have to do something about it otherwise you will remain stagnant. No deliberate actions no desired results – period.
The goal of this article is to help you become keenly aware
of the 3 Cs of personal growth – Choice,
Change and Consistency. Without these 3 your personal growth cannot
flourish the way you desire; they are essential to your success.
Choice
I am not going to speculate about how the first man/woman was born; however, it is no speculation that all things begin with Choice. Whether yours or others, when things are put into motion they happen in the sequence they do based on the choices that have been made.
We are all the sum of our choices. You are where you are and have what you have because of the choices you have made. I know that many people don’t sit on the same side as I on this because of the misconception that lack of awareness negates choice. This could not be further from the truth. The fact that you may not know that you have other options does not negate the fact that in all things you must still make a choice. Even the decision to remain ignorant is a choice; perhaps not a good one for the most part but it is nonetheless – a choice.
If you accept that your personal growth is your responsibility, you’ve already made a choice. Taking steps to improve it are just another series of choices that you have to make to see that you achieve the results you desire.
There has also been the argument of environment,
circumstances and parentage being the determining factors for your future.
Again – this is a load of – well I’m sure you get the idea.
If you don’t believe it – consider this…
I’ve heard of a study conducted at a prestigious university about 100 of the world’s greatest leaders. Of the 100, 75% were found to have come from either an extremely impoverished background or had been stricken with some severe physical or mental defect. How would you explain the success these individuals were able to achieve? They didn’t just achieve personal success; these world class leaders literally changed the world.
That is because they understood that leadership is a choice; that everything you are and everything you do are a true reflection of the choices that you make. Need I say more… ok then I will?
How about high school football coach Charlie Wedemeyer; whom despite stricken with Lou Gehrig’s disease and being a quadriplegic led his team to a 14-12 championship victory in 1985. Although Charlie was no longer able to speak, he mouthed his instructions to his wife who told it to the assistant coaches who told it to the players. He did all this while laying flat on his back unable to move any part of his body except his eyes and his lips. What a remarkable display of will power and choice that is.
Like I said – everything begins with choice and your
personal growth won’t improve until you choose to improve it.
Change
With choice comes change – it’s automatic. When you choose to improve your personal growth, it is inevitable that there will be changes. You cannot grow unless you Change. You cannot change unless you choose to.
It is impossible to achieve any level of growth without change first occurring. The very act of growing is in effect changing. No growth can take place at the same level of awareness prior to the growth. With awareness comes new thought and with new thought comes new action which begets change.
There is a reason for changing seasons – it involves a cycle of growth and we receive a new cycle each year through the 4 seasons. In order to achieve the results you desire in your personal growth, you must be willing to change what you are doing today. You will be unsuccessful if you simply continue doing the same things and expect different results – that’s insanity.
The most important thing to remember about change is that it
happens with or without you. Just because you refuse to change doesn’t mean it
isn’t happening. Change is a principle – a constant – it doesn’t matter what
you or anyone else does, it will simply exist – always.
Consistency
The last of the 3 Cs of personal growth is Consistency. The fact is that the more you continue to do something, the better you become at it. Continued growth requires consistent action day after day. No one is perfect so of course you will have your bad days. The key to your success is making sure that you have more good days than bad.
My experience is that once you find a compelling reason to remain consistent, it gets easier; you begin to enjoy the journey. Find the fuel you need to propel you every day and it will become easier for you to maintain discipline.
It is through consistency that we develop habits; make sure that you are consistent with the right things. Just like change, consistency is a principle and it is at work even when you aren’t. It merely exists and you will get from it what you feed it. If you feed it bad habits, you will consistently get bad results.
Think of it this way…
There is a story of an old Eskimo
who had 2 dogs – a black one and a white one. Every Saturday, the dogs would
fight until they wore each other out and the last one standing would win. Some
days the white dog won and on other days the black dog won. The interesting
thing was that no matter which dog won, the old Eskimo always seemed to bet on
the winner. One day, a young man asked the old Eskimo, “How is it that you are
always able to bet on the winning dog week after week no matter which one
wins?” The old Eskimo replied “Well that’s easy son, I just bet on the one that
I had been feeding all week.”
That’s an analogy I heard listening to Zig Ziglar and it makes perfect sense here. Basically, whatever you feed wins in the end. So, if you are going to be consistent make sure you are building the habits that will help you achieve the results you desire. Too often we spend time consistently feeding the wrong energy and then wonder why we don’t get the things we really want.
It’s very simple; if you consistently feed negativity you
will habitually get negative results. If you consistently feed positivity, you
will habitually get positive results.
What do the 3 Cs
mean to you?
That depends completely on your goals and your understanding of how these constants apply to your personal growth.
In general I can say that these 3 Cs are vital to your personal growth. If you intend to achieve any success in the things you do, be prepared to make the 3 Cs conscious habits. Choices you are going to make no matter what you think; even if you believe that ignorance negates choice, it doesn’t matter. That is your CHOICE.
The bottom line is that if the 3 Cs are not happening at some level in your life, it’s safe to say you aren’t growing either. That means your personal growth has now become your personal stagnation.
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