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What is personal growth?

To me, personal growth means becoming a better, more aware, more capable version of yourself over time. It is not becoming a perfect person, or changing your personality, or even emulating the people you admire. It is learning to be true to yourself and living a life that is satisfying and meaningful!

There are several important aspects to personal growth.

The first one is self-awareness. This requires that you take time to explore who you are and to understand how and why you think and react to the world around you. So many of us have trauma in our past or learned behaviors that are automatic. Do you look at the world with fearful eyes, or hopeful eyes, do you expect people to do the right thing or do you distrust the new faces that come into your life? Do not judge yourself for your thoughts and feelings but ask yourself if your actions align with your values. What do you believe in and are you living a life to support those beliefs?

The second aspect of personal growth is deciding what needs to change. Changes can be the scariest and/or the most exciting decisions you make. What is a pattern in your life that is not serving you? Do you have friends and family that constantly take from you without ever giving back? Are there perhaps people in your life that you know do more for you than you do for them? Do you value a clean environment and yet never seem to have the time to clean (this one is me for sure!). How can you change your behavior to align with the person you want to be?

The third part of personal growth is consistency. Engaging in small behaviors that become habits and result in gradual, sustainable improvements. These can and most often should be fairly easy. Do you drink enough water? Can you start each day with a glass of water before you have your coffee (or whatever gets you up and moving). Are there always dirty dishes in your sink? Can you make a habit to take fifteen minutes to clean the sink every night before bed? It is amazing what those fifteen minutes can accomplish!

Personal growth is not about self-criticism, pushing yourself too hard or neglecting the things that make you happy in order to be “better”.

This blog is one thing that I am doing on my personal growth journey. I want to connect with people in a way that is meaningful, share the things that bring me joy, and make a record of a life filled with fun, creativity and love. If that sounds like something you are interested in, I hope you will join me. We can all grow together!