Why Personal Growth Needs to Become Your New Normal

As a small business owner, most of your time and energy would likely be spent operating and expanding your business. You’ve invested your money in it, so you’d do your best to keep it profitable.

But did you know that you will reach greater heights in business if you would also invest in your personal growth?

Staying within your comfort zone may seem like a good way to cope with the demands and pressures of being a business owner.

That’s what someone (we’ll call him Daniel) used to think when he first started his construction company. He had to juggle so many responsibilities almost every day, so whatever free time he had left would be for sleeping or chilling on his couch to catch up with his favorite shows.

At the one-year mark of his company, however, Daniel began feeling stuck even though the business continued to flourish. He felt like something was missing, but he ignored it until it started affecting his focus and motivation at work. His self-esteem took a hit when the company hit a rough patch, and some days, he felt like he was on the verge of giving up entirely.

If Daniel’s story sounded like something you are going through, let’s discuss why we recommend embracing a mindset for personal growth as a way to achieve success in your life and business. We will also cover how you can make it a part of your new normal as an entrepreneur.

What is personal growth?

There is no universal way to ensure growth as an individual. We’re all unique from each other, so we develop in different ways, too.

Nonetheless, personal growth begins with introspection about your current state. Realising where you stand now and what you want to pursue will set the direction and pace for your journey to success and happiness.

Therefore, personal growth is not limited to your career. Assuming that it is so will lead you to the same path that Daniel had taken. Instead, it’s an all-encompassing value shaped by our interests, desires, and circumstances.

Types of personal growth

If you still don’t have an idea what personal growth is, let’s take a look at the different types of activities that will facilitate our development in critical areas of our day-to-day living.

Physical growth

Aiming for a healthier body through proper diet, exercise, and sleep may not sound like a lofty goal to have.

However, our physical state influences how well we can function and develop in other aspects.

Moreover, it can be challenging to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially if you’re not used to paying attention to the nutritional value of your meals, if exercising has never been a priority for you, or if you tend to sleep late or oversleep frequently.

Mental growth

Stimulating the mind through exercises involving logic, creativity, or memory will enhance your intellect and teach you valuable insights into the world we live.

For example, learning a new language will allow you to communicate more effectively with others while also instilling the value of persistence and hard work within you.

On the other hand, reading books regularly can expand your vocabulary and widen your perspective about life in general.

Emotional growth

Our ability to understand feelings and their influence over our thoughts and actions determines how well we can handle our relationship with ourselves and others.

Improving your emotional intelligence can be done in a number of ways. It can be as basic as recognizing and naming your emotions through journaling or as proactive as gaining the skill of active listening.

Whatever method you choose, having mastery over your feelings would bring you closer to happiness and contentment.

Social growth

Personal development does not have to be a solo adventure. Strengthening our connection with other people is both challenging and rewarding.

By working on our social skills, we can enhance our communication skills and the ability to solve problems and work as a team.

We can also gain the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others if we reach out to them.

Spiritual growth

Being religious is not the same as being in touch with your spirituality. While we can develop in each area, spiritual growth goes beyond our beliefs in a higher power.

It requires you to have a deep awareness and understanding of yourself and your place in the universe.

To do this, you may consider engaging in activities like mindfulness, meditation, or listening to spirituality-centered talks or podcasts.

Which types of personal growth would you be interested in pursuing? Remember, you have to look inwards to find out the best ways for you to take on the challenge of stretching beyond your capabilities to develop new skills, knowledge, relationships, or even a deeper understanding of yourself and the world.

Invest in yourself

Still not convinced that it’s worth investing in yourself? Do you believe it’s a luxury that only a few can afford?

Or maybe you want to engage in continual improvement, but you simply cannot spare the energy for it?

To convince you of its importance, here are the top benefits of committing to personal growth as your new normal.

You can use your new skills and knowledge to be more productive and effective.

Through personal development, you will feel more empowered to hit your targets and complete tasks that were not possible before.

In case of difficulties or failures, the resilience you have built up while growing will help you get back on your feet and keep moving until you have reached your goals.

Taking on the challenge may boost your self-confidence.

If you go after your interests and use them as springboards for personal development, there’s a good chance that you will hit your milestones.

You feel driven to make progress, and when you start seeing the results, you’d feel like you are capable and ready to deal with your personal matters and business dealings. 

You may discover hidden talents along the way.

We will never know what lies beyond our cage if we will never break from it. For instance, you choose to foster your spirituality through mindful exercises.

As people notice the difference in you, they approach you for advice, and you learn that you have a gift for inspiring others. So, your next goal is to take things to the next level by improving your public speaking skills so that you can impart your message to a broader audience.

It will give you the chance to lead by example.

As a business owner, you want your employees to be continually improving so that they can contribute more to your company’s goals.

While you can urge or motivate them to do so, you can only go so far if they don’t see you practicing what you preach. Similarly, you might be able to spark your family or friends to stretch themselves for the better, too. 

Investing in yourself is not going to be a waste of valuable resources. Your personal growth has a rippling effect on your success as a business owner and the strength of your relationships with other people. It can also be a platform for you to demonstrate the way out to those who also feel stuck, bored, or indolent without really knowing why.

Begin Today

It’s not too late for Daniel. He can still turn things around in his personal life and construction company. Similarly, you can achieve your full potential and genuine contentment if you would always look for ways to improve yourself.

 After reading this article, we suggest putting together a plan for your personal development. Give yourself enough to examine yourself carefully for aspects you wish to improve. Remember, it can be anything in your life—for example, your fitness routine or the way you handle criticisms from other people.

If you’re not certain how to structure your goals for your personal growth, consider seeking the expertise of a life coach or perhaps a successful person who can be your mentor. Through their guidance, you will be able to focus better on executing the plan and keeping track of your progress.

Hold yourself accountable by writing down your goals for personal development. It will be even more effective if you would be loud about them to other people because they help remind you whenever you lose sight of what is important in the long run.

Do yourself a favor by stepping outside your comfort zone. Start small, if need be, since it means that you have taken action towards the right direction. Avoid setting yourself up for failure by assigning unrealistic goals for yourself. If you can read a book for only 10 minutes each day, that will still be around 60 hours of total reading time for the year—much better than not doing it at all.

Are you ready to embark on a lifelong quest for continual improvement? Feel free to speak to us if you have any questions or comments about making this challenging yet rewarding lifestyle your new normal.