“The goals are different for everyone, and so is the growth.”
What is Personal Growth?
A desire to become a better version of yours than yesterday is Personal Growth. A never-ending process. A journey to Personal development is different for each individual. The process itself requires discipline and intentionality in the first place.
So, how do you measure your growth?
There are no universal metrics or even milestones for you to measure your growth journey (as it’s highly personal!) but let’s dive deep into the ones which you should consider on the way and also the ones you should NOT fully consider.
MEASURES OF GROWTH - True measures of Personal Growth
1. Self-Awareness
When you know who you are and accept it, you know how to and in which aspect of your life you need to grow. You can’t think of personal growth without being honest and real with yourself. You need that kind of deep knowledge of your personality for you to assess how much have you grown from the past (or even yesterday).
2. A Growth Mindset
You need to have a Growth Mindset, your own belief in your capabilities, and that you can develop and expand them. The opportunities are endless and will always be there for you to keep growing, all you have to do is put in some effort and hard work. When you start choosing “growth” mindset > “fixed” mindset, that is when you are growing.
3. Self-Reflection
An essential practice but not so easy to do. Self-reflection is a road map to Self-awareness. Reflecting on your actions and the causes behind them, helps you understand where is the change required. It’s a search for “Why” behind every what that comes your way.
“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.”- John Dewey
4. Growth Plan
A growth plan with clear and realistic goals is always a good idea to start with. Having a plan not only provides you a direction but also helps you in measuring if it’s going the way you wanted it to. While setting the goals for yourself, always give it a quick check if they are the SMART ones.
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Relevant
T – Timely
5. Relationship with others
Healthy relationships are another major measure of personal growth. When you work on bettering your life, you are also making the lives of people around you better. When you grow stronger, your relationships strengthen too!
(Not so) True measures of Personal Growth
Money and Materialistic Achievements
Money is indeed a measure of growth and success, but an external one. Being ambitious about materialistic achievements is not at all wrong, but being one at the cost of your health, relationships, time, and peace of mind are wrong. Once you start measuring growth in terms of numbers you have in your bank, it will never be enough. You will never be enough, neither will your efforts!
Unrealistic Goals
Goals give you direction to lead on, so set them in a way that is realistic and serves your true purpose. Checking off your goals from the list is the most rewarding part of your growth journey. However, if they are unrealistic, they might end up giving you more anxiety than achievement.
Comparisons
Comparison is literally off the list of measures you should be using for your growth. You can’t compare your journey with anyone else. You started at different points and you have different directions and destinations to reach.
“Comparison kills the curiosity (to know what’s in store for you further in this journey)”
All work and no play
Working on your growth plan rigorously doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. Sometimes sit back and pause either to reflect how far have you come or to celebrate that fact. Little steps do deserve bigger celebrations (or small, totally your call!)
“All work and no play indeed make you a dull human (got to make it Gender Neutral!)”
Immediate results
Even Maggi can’t be cooked in 2 minutes (like they claim!), and here we are talking about the Magi(C) of your growth to happen. Bigger things take time to happen. Personal Growth is a lifelong journey, not a destination.
Remember, it is normal to have ups and downs in your growth journey. The solution is not to get Stuck but Start over, accept it for what it is and then make necessary changes to turn into something you have always hoped for.
Happy Growing!
Deebha Sithta