Use this formula to grow: Awareness + Vision x Action

Since I was a little kid I was obsessed with growth.  It started with the hope that someday I would grow to be 7ft tall so I could join the Chicago Bulls and carry on the tradition that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen built.  I was obsessed with being taller!  I would run home from school every day full of excitement and hope. Throwing my books and my bag onto the floor, I would rush to stand up against the pantry door in the kitchen, which was full of marked lines indicating my growth spurts, and check to see if I had grown. Standing with my back up against the pantry door with a nicely sharpened number 2 pencil in my hand, I would guide the pencil along the top of my head until the lead touched the door, while giving a little extra push to ensure that the mark would be visible.  As soon as I felt the pencil create it’s beautiful Michelangelo dot, I would quickly whip around with unwavering faith that the pencil mark would be above the dot from the day before.   Even a millimeter higher was a win in my book, and it would be celebrated with a dance that would put Carlton Banks to shame! Yes, I have smooth moves.

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While a tiny part of me still holds on to this unrealistic hope that I will grow 3-4 more inches to reach my goal of standing 7ft tall, I am starting to lose some confidence that at 36-years old I have maxed out my height and I will forever be this tiny 6ft 9in tall human (ha ha).   Even though I still have a small amount of faith that I will grow, I recently have become obsessed with a new type of growth.

A type of growth that I can control.

A type of growth that doesn’t stop with age, but can actually be accelerated as we get older.

A type of growth that would figurately dwarf my 6ft 9in stature if there was a way to compare.

FYI: I am not talking about the growth of my gut after years of steaks, burritos, burgers, and Modelo with lime. I am talking about Personal Growth.

 

As I have continued along my journey I have found that the same passion I had with growing taller and putting a basketball through a 10 foot hoop, is the same passion I have for personal development.  I am constantly thinking about what is next. What can I do to get better?  How can I impact more people?  How can I bring more happiness to my life and the lives of others?   Through this process of exploration, I discovered a simple formula that has allowed me to take that much needed, and often hardest, first step toward personal growth.

AWARENESS + VISION x ACTION

AWARENESS:

To have any type of growth we have to first acknowledge and understand our current situation.   What are our strengths?  What are our weaknesses?  Why did I fail at x,y,z?  Why did I succeed at x,y,z?  Growth requires us to be brutally honest about ourselves.  The person who deserves the most love from us, is standing in the mirror looking right back at us.   Sometimes it requires the love of honoring our wins and at other times it requires some tough love to let us know that we can and should do better.  By taking this action, we have a clear idea of what needs our focus.

VISION

Once we gain some awareness, it is imperative that we use the beautiful and magical power of our imagination.  As we get older, our imagination often gets rusty, but trust me, it is still there and it still holds that same magical power we knew as a kid. For your reference of how powerful our imagination can be, I was 10,000 wins and 0 losses playing against Larry Bird in my driveway growing up (the sucka could not guard me).  Using this same imagination, we can visualize what our life will be when we make the changes we know we need to make.  How will my life be impacted if I learn a new skill?  How amazing will my relationships be once I develop a new strategy? There really are no boundaries to this visualization.

Side Note: When you are practicing your visualization, close your eyes and let your mind explore all the options and possibilities.   Identify with something that gives you that passionate fire in your belly.  Hold on to a vision that provides you motivation.  This vision and motivation can be a powerful tool that will allow you to push through challenges and obstacles in route to your dreams.

ACTION:

Life is all about action.  Imagine if Steve Jobs decided that he was going to watch 10 more episodes of Diff’rent Strokes via a VHS tape, instead of developing the culture -changing apple computer.  (VHS Tape?? “What you talking about Willis?” For the young readers following this blog, I wanted to double confuse you with VHS and Family Strokes.  Google it)! Imagine if the Wright Brothers decided that it was impossible to build a metal object that flew in the sky, so instead of building an airplane they went on a bike ride.

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Life is all about decisions and one of the most important decisions we can make is to take action. While there is a massive amount of power in awareness and vision, nothing will happen if we don’t take the necessary steps to move forward.  Create a plan that addresses what you learned through your awareness and aligns to the journey you created during your vision, and then just decide that you are willing to do whatever it takes to make that vision a reality. There isn’t anything you are struggling with in life that hasn’t been addressed in a book, shared by a guru, or presented by a life coach.  The information is out there, but with all this amazing information, nothing can be done if you don’t take the accountability, remove whatever fear is standing in your way, and take that leap of faith called action.

This process may seem to be difficult and daunting, but it really is quite simple.  Understand what you need to work on, visualize your life as if that weakness was a strength, and then act on what you know you want.