Personal Growth: Why do we really need it?

Personal growth is such a deep, enriching subject to discuss but when boiled down, it is simply Self Awareness+Self Improvement.

It is the wholesome growth of a person- mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, social and financial too. Understanding who we are on various levels and then using that as a base to improve is what personal growth is all about.

Personal growth really starts at an early age. Because it is not a completely conscious process at that phase it is mostly influenced by the environment and the people around which the child grows.

But what really causes us to consciously decide on pursuing our own wholesome growth?

It usually happens when-

1) an inspiration strikes from let's say- a great book you read or a real life person who is tasting success in the most organic way i.e., by working on their self right from the beginning.

2) there are problems in your daily life that will most likely find answers if you become a better person.

Your trigger could be either one or both of the above cases but you will still need a consistent dose of motivation, a true desire to improve to be successful at pursuing your personal growth. At the end of the day, intention is what determines if you will continue on this journey and become a better version everyday.

The whole idea here is to strive to live better. It's not as much a question of how you perform as it is about what your progress up till that point looks like.

Now that you understand what exactly is personal growth I want to show you why you need it so much in your life as a human.

There a innumerable reasons for why you should strive to live better but I can give you 6 solid ones right now to get started!

1. Growing on a personal level will develop in you a sense of passion towards life in general. You will want to wake up everyday and do the work it takes to feel that boost of inner strength and self-control you are beginning to experience. This is you mental growth happening.

2. Working on oneself is not an act of selfishness but of personal responsibility. You will begin to see it very early into this journey that's about yourself. You will understand that you matter first and any improvement in other aspects of your life will not happen if you continue ignoring yourself. So when you are no longer brushing everything that is about you under a carpet, your emotional health will have started to improve.

3. Just one small act of personal growth everyday can cause inside you an immense shift of energy. Practice mindfulness, journal your thoughts or just read one good, valuable book- one simple act like that can itself make you feel positively conscious of yourself. Practicing a set of such acts everyday will open a channel of fresh energy in you and before you know it you are spiritually evolving.

4. Part of your personal growth journey is taking care of your body. What you put in is what reflects out. The better the eating habits, the better is your physical energy, your performance throughout the day. Fitness too is an important element that eases your body and expands your mind. Making your body a better place to reside in is nothing but you improving physically.

5. Personal growth expands your circle of consciousness. You will begin to feel your world expand and so instead of being self-centered (which is often falsely presumed to be the outcome of focusing on yourself before everyone else) you are more inclusive of people around you. As this feeling of your surroundings opening up for you starts to increase you will become more aware of the opportunities and possibilities around you. This is your expansion happening socially, which doesn't always mean being more outgoing and extroverted but in fact it means being fine with the idea of basic social attachment that can help benefit us into actually feeling like a part of a community.

6. With a wholesome growth under progress you will start to feel more and more responsible for your own choices. Spending money in a smart way that saves you a set portion to reinvest every time you earn it will not just make you feel in control but also lead to financial independence in the near future.

I believe these points are just enough to motivate you to set yourself on this path. Now if you are wondering- where do I begin? then just take these simple points into consideration.

• Begin by taking a thorough observation test of yourself- your behavior, your habits, things you think you should do Vs things you actually end up doing. Basically, take an open and unbiased look at your life right this moment. This will show you what changes you need to make in yourself.

• Though paying attention to one's own self is key to understanding what needs to be improved, observing other people can also help recognize negative and positive traits because now you are viewing from an external point, making you more aware of what you need to inculcate in yourself and what to control. However, please note that it does not mean you constantly compare everything you do and your life to someone else's. Though we are all people, we are different on a deeper level. Take what you have to and the rest is just what you choose to work on.

• If you are still not clear as to where to start, I suggest you start with your daily basic habits. Some examples: write down your goals yearly-monthly-weekly-daily, create a vision board for the year, learn a new skill, read everyday, work on your mindset to be more positive, build a productive routine and stick by it. Alter, add or remove habits based on what is refraining you from or what will help you in your betterment. Habits are primarily what structure a person's entire life. What and how you do the little acts that are part of your days, one at a time, decides the big picture. So start there.

In the end, I want to once again remind you that personal growth is a journey of a life time. We are constantly practicing to live better everyday and there is no ultimate destination to it. That is the joy of setting out on this path- you are forever evolving. You will not remain the same person an year from now but if you should be better, you ought to work for it. Choosing to focus on our betterment on a personal level is really inspiring as we progress. You want to be better then do better, while also caring for yourself and remembering to not be too hard on yourself.

Personal growth as promising and (slightly) overwhelming as it sounds, is mostly about the balance. Balance between the good and bad days, the positive and negative parts of you, your today and your tomorrow, your this moment and the next. The idea here is not perfection. It is intention with action on a consistent basis. So, start small and remember- It is one tiny act at a time. One day at a time!