Growth Doesn’t Come In Microwave Packages

“You’ve got to continue to grow or you’re just like last night’s corn bread -- stale and dry.”

Loretta Lynn

I’ve Been Thinking . . . about the temptation to coast.

C. William Fisher, in his book, Don’t Park Here, tells about driving in his car with his 4-year-old son. “Byron, what do you want to be when you grow up to be a man,” he inquired. The youngster replied, “I don’t want to grow up to be a man.” Surprised, his father asked, “Why not?” Byron replied, “because then I couldn’t ride my tricycle!”

Fisher wrote, “As I drove on, I thought, ‘I’m sure I enjoyed my tricycle when I was 4, but I’m also sure that I enjoy much more the power and performance of my Olds (probably a Toyota in current times) today.’”

Fisher’s point reminds me of the two caterpillars crawling across the grass when a beautiful butterfly flew over. One nudged the other and commented, “You couldn’t get me up in one of these things for a million dollars!”

Neither the caterpillar nor little Byron understood the excitement of growth. How many times do we cling to childhood tricycles or limited performance, not realizing the potential for so much more? To get what you want out of life, you will be required to continually change and grow. Personal growth transforms life through the development of powers not yet recognized.

Growth is preceded by substantial effort. There is no shortcut. An unceasing effort to advance, move forward, and explore the unknown will protect you from the trap of the tried and true. Growth doesn’t come conveniently packaged in a microwave container that can be zapped and ready to serve. If you want to become all you can be, understand that explosive growth requires a commitment to a lifestyle of pursuing uncharted territories.

Here are a few stimulators to activate the growth process and overcome that fleeting thought of coasting.

Becoming all you can be is a mind set, a way of thinking. You must believe there is room for improvement and growth. When you rethink how you think, your mental boundaries will be stretched, expanding the room for your performance potential and eliminating perceived constraints. The capacity to grow begins in your mind. Give yourself permission to risk the unknown.

Growth requires you to abandon the status quo and overused methodologies. Sticking to the tried and true will stymie your ability to move beyond where you are. It is a subtle trap that keeps you living in a box. Instead, determine to abandon the usual and ignore doing what you’ve always done. Disturb your comfortable lifestyle. Do something new!

Be prepared for the long haul. There is no overnight success. Pursuing your potential will take considerable quiet, unapplauded effort. It is an inside job that defies discouragement and survives without public recognition. An old Irish proverb says, “You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather is.” In other words, you can’t depend on what others before you have done or your past performance to guarantee future brightness.

Surround yourself with people who are vitally alive and stretching. Stay away from boring people who live in a grave with ends knocked out -- a rut. Get close to those who epitomize a passion for the privilege of living and the pursuit of possibilities.

Dissolve perfectionist attitudes. Perfectionism immobilizes initiative and paralyzes progress. The pursuit of perfection cripples your ability to move ahead because nothing will ever be “good enough” to build on. Perfectionism often becomes an excuse not to try at all. Growth is not a finished product but a way of making each part of our life better. Perfectionists are continually looking to achieve unblemished results. It’s not going to happen.

Continually dream, plan, create new goals and identify new challenges to conquer. Stagnant living is being over concerned with obstacles and limitations. Replace old expectations by pursuing something new. You will be motivated to expand yourself to meet the new challenges and master new approaches. Ronald E. Osborne stated, “Unless you do something beyond what you’ve already mastered, you will never grow.”

Stop doing something you presently do. More of the same just produces more of the same. Evaluate your beliefs, habits, and behaviors. Determine what isn’t working or adding substantial value to your life. Eliminate it. Replace it. No matter how hard you try to make the old methods work, you will reach a point of diminishing returns. An addiction to the old makes it virtually impossible to learn anything new.

Be willing to make mistakes. Growth requires you to learn on the go, right through your mistakes and failures. Errors are expected, even welcomed. Take advantage of them. They are ever present learning tools, warning signals and detour signs that keep us on course to personal success.

Eliminate excuses. “I’m too old to start now.” “I’m set in my ways.” “I’m just too comfortable where I am even though I’m not getting the results I want.” I’ve heard them all and a hundred others. Every excuse is a good excuse but not one is acceptable. Take charge. Make choices. Eliminate excuses. You are in control.

George Eliot wrote, “It is never too late to be what you might have become.” There is no time like the present to get started. Growth doesn’t begin until you do. You must move...take action...mobilize your resources...eliminate resistors and channel your energies to push your personal effectiveness to an all-time high.

“Resting on one’s laurels makes for an uncomfortable bed, and only crushes the laurels.”

A. Cygni