Self Growth - By Leaps and Bounds

This is one of those quotes that inspires me every time I read it.  It makes me want to take on roughly 4,596 new endeavors.

One of my favorite philosophers, Henri Frederic Amiel, also sends my mind off looking for new avenues to explore with these words:

“He who is silent is forgotten; he who does not advance falls back; he who stops is overwhelmed, out distanced, crushed; he who ceases to grow becomes smaller; he who leaves off, gives up; the condition of standing still is the beginning of the end.”

We all have, within us, more capacities than we ever even realize.  Capacities for growth, change, and improvement. One of the problems is we get too comfortable and content.  We settle into what we have and simply accept who we are - as we are.  Sure, self-acceptance is a grand and glorious thing, but not at the cost of stunted growth.

If you’re like me, you not only know you can grow more - you’re eager to do so.  You are, after all, currently gracing a web site called Self Help Daily, so I’m thinking you’re a go-getter looking looking to go get!

Below are a few suggestions to help Go Getters get along:

1. Gag the little voices of doubt inside of you.  If you’d like to learn something new….go for it!  Don’t let little voices tell you that you’re too old to go back to school, too shy to take a dance class, too scared to take flying lessons, etc.  You can do anything you want to do, you’ll find a way to make it happen.
2. There’s no time for finger-pointing or blame games in a Go Getters life.  What your parents did or didn’t do, what your spouse says or doesn’t say, what God has allowed or hasn’t allowed - none of that matters.  Water under the bridge.  Put another way, a crutch you don’t need.  You are responsible for yourself - for better or worse. Let go of any resentments you’re carrying around, they’re only weighing you down, after all!
3. Take a good, long, hard look at your habits.  The saying’s true, you know, …first we make our habits and then they make us.  If you have any that are standing between you and self growth, invite them to leave.  And by “invite them to leave,” I mean pull them, push them, spit on them, pull their hair, poke them - whatever it takes.  Play dirty?  You bet!
4. Now that you have the vehicle (you!) primed and ready, ask yourself where you want to go.  Don’t think you have to take the shortest, easiest path - take the one you want to take to get you where you want to be!

J.C. Penney (I love you, man, I really really love you, man.) said, “No one need live a minute longer as he is because the creator endowed us with the ability to change ourselves.”

What are you waiting for?  Get growing!