The 4 Cs of Personal Growth

To me this personal growth seems like such a f**k!

You know, those cheap, cheap new age American motivational stuff that wants to sell you the secret to life by talking about goals, success, the law of attraction, time management, and meditation!

And then these articles… they look like chain letters, starting with the advice to be less consumerist and ending with the .jpg of the caterpillar that becomes a butterfly!

You know what?

You’re right, personal growth is a gullible thing. Or…

Ours is just fear.

Wanting to grow is admitting your weaknesses.
Wanting to grow up means leaving the house and questioning your beliefs.
Wanting to grow is confronting and colliding with yourself when you face obstacles and don’t want to remember your defeats.

After all, thinking that personal growth is just a bunch of bullshit makes our egos more… at ease. But is it possible that life is just a constant search for safety and comfort?

If you too are not convinced, these 4 “Cs” will allow you to take a look at the panorama that we will be able to see from the next “step”.

1. Awareness.

There is no growth without awareness.

You cannot decide to go up until you realize that there is a ladder in front of you and you are on the lowest step. To become aware of our position, every now and then we have to stop, get off the only real Spanish high-speed train, our life, and take stock of the situation.

What did I dream of doing as a child? What am I doing? Do I decide my life or does my life decide? How do I feel physically? Am I fit?

There are no fancy techniques to become aware: stop, ask questions and answer them honestly. That’s all.

2. Change.

If you answered your questions honestly, you are probably now aware of at least 2 or 3 things that are wrong in your life.

Maybe you need to quit smoking, lose weight, or learn to be more organized.

Whatever aspect of your life you want to improve, to initiate the change you have to decide that you want to change, you have to want to want to change, you have to be obsessed with change. In these cases there is a very effective managerial technique: the “hot platform strategy”.

When an oil rig catches fire, there’s no alternative: you have to escape, you have to change… air.

Create that sense of urgency in your life, make change the only way forward.

Do you want to quit smoking?

Download photos of smokers’ lungs on the internet, read books on how to quit smoking, talk to an oncologist and take a trip to the hospital: fear and suffering are 2 motivating factors, not very new age ;-), but very effective.

3. Correction.

Once you’ve created that sense of urgency in your life, the next step is correction.

To start fixing what’s wrong in your life, the only effective strategy is to take small steps.

Change management experts call them “Quick Wins”.

By taking it one step at a time, you will keep your motivation high and make your change… fun. If your next “step” is to reach your ideal weight, set realistic goals and try to achieve them while having fun: buy a Wii Fit, run with your friends.

While the term correction reminds you of those red marks from your teacher, not necessarily improving doesn’t have to be pain or sacrifice.

4. Growth.

Well, the last “C” of personal growth could only be growth itself.

Being able to take the next step is not enough for you: the need for growth must be a constant in your life.

Changing when things go wrong is a necessity, changing when things go right is an opportunity, a great choice.