There’s something frustrating about growing. That frustrating thing?
Growth isn’t instantly noticeable.
There’s truth behind that statement. You know it. You feel it. And, if you’re like me, you resent the fact growth takes time.
Image by Dave Toaster
Yet it’s a fact of life. Rarely will anything of worth happen instantly. Rather, growth takes time.
Give Growth Time
The world is increasingly becoming an impatient place to be.
We get angry when things take longer than we think they should. The quick meal at Burger King is ruined because it took 5 minutes to get your order rather than 2 minutes. The horns start blaring as the car at the stoplight doesn’t proceed the moment the light turned green. The anger starts rising when your new pet doesn’t catch onto the household rules.
All because we’re impatient. We’re expecting something at the drop of a dime.
Our personal growth doesn’t happen like that. Growth takes time.
Growth Takes Application
It’s easy to read the books that have been published on leadership or personal growth or marriage. Consuming the material is EASY! All it takes is a bit of time (Hey, that’s the first thing we need to do with growth, give it time!) to read through the books.
Then comes the hard part. Applying what we’ve read and consumed.
Growth takes application of what we’re learning. We’ve got to begin to implement the strategies the authors have shared with us.
Reading through the book and putting it back on the shelf gives a glimpse at what could be. Reading the book, keeping the book off of the book shelf, going back to key points in the book, and taking action on those sections begins to bring growth.
Growth Takes Repetition
We like to think we get the facts after the first go through. Once we’ve read a book or completed a task, we begin to believe we’ve mastered the growth we need.
Yet it never works that way. We’re not wired to become masters, or even proficient, after our first go-around.
Rather, growth takes the effort of practice and repetition. We’ve got to continue doing what we’ve learned to maintain the level of growth we desire to see.
By going over the steps again and again, we begin to cement the ideas in our minds. We begin to see the desired actions happen almost by themselves.
Repetition brings about consistency.
Growth Requires Consistency
Lastly, growth really requires consistency. Not only does that mean repetition, growth requires us to do something on a regular basis.
I learned this the hard way when I slacked off on my running routine. For 2 years I was consistently running and seeing my minutes per mile decrease.
Then I faced a tragedy and became very inconsistent in my running.
As I’ve now begun to get back on the road and running, I’ve noticed I’m no longer able to run the distances I had previously obtained. Instead of growing, I my running ability decayed to the point it’s almost like I’m starting over.
When we’re consistent, we are able to build upon our previous growth and bring it to a new level.
Remember, Growth Takes Time!
Don’t fret when you feel like you’re not seeing results. They’re there, they’re just small and unnoticeable at this time.
Keep applying what you’re consuming. Keep repeating the new skills you’re learning. Keep being consistent.
When you do these 3 things, you’re creating a recipe for growth.
Question: How do you deal with the slowness of growth? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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