Just as my purposes for this site have changed over the years, so has my life purpose and the direction I find myself going, both personally and professionally. My hope is that I can continue to hone in on the things that I intend to do and the kind of person I am striving to be, so that I can experience the personal and professional growth I desire.
Do Some People Possess a Special GROWTH Gene?
I've observed that some people are not really interested in personal or professional development. Perhaps they don't know much about what that would entail or they are comfortable with where they are in life.
It could perhaps be a form of contentment with the current place in life, or being resigned and cynical and not believing there is a way to make life any better than it currently is; or a series of challenges and failures that have prevented upward progress from continuing. There are surely a million different reasons why some people do not have a noticable desire to be better; to become much more than what they are now.
I get that we can all be held back by our limiting belief systems, whatever they may be, and we may not even realize that our internal and even unconsious belief systems might be holding us back from our greater potential. I do think we can all awaken something within ourselves, though, that can help to fuel our pursuit for personal and professional growth.
This is NOT about genetics at all!
This is all about the direction of the mind (and heart) and the willingness, or lack thereof, to alter the flow of information and direction of thought in the mind; to influence emotion and motivation from the inside out.
I feel for those who struggle with depression, loneliness and other states of being that may make it more difficult to maintain a consistent level of positivity and productivity. Yet all people, of all walks of life, can do what they can, with what they have to work with, and if we happen to find ourselves with the ability to positively influence those around us in some meaningful way, large or small, we should be doing just that!
Born to Be FREE. Born to Be GREAT.
It is so fascinating that we are not born into this world with fears, doubts, concerns or negativity, yet we can easily become consumed with such mental and emotional constructs as the years roll by. Why is that?
What is the key underlying difference between a person filled with negativity, doubt, fear or anxiety, versus someone that is more positively oriented, expecting happiness, ease, abundance and success?
Typically, the primary causation for such differences will lie in the type and quality of the thoughts that take place in that person's mind, and the emotions that fill the heart, which then lead, in turn, to the words, actions and outcomes experienced.
We must always remember that our thoughts, our minds, contain tremendous creative powers, and with every thought comes the energy of creation and manifestation. We don't have to fully understand it and know HOW it works; only to recognize that thoughts possess power and that our lives tend to be a mirror, although sometimes a merciless one, of our thoughts and our most inner-held belief systems, be they positive or negative.
The Day to Change? Yeah, That Would Be TODAY!
Changing the focus of the mind and the nature of our thoughts could be likened to that of the concept of investing for a future retirement or life savings. The younger we start investing typically the greater benefit and impact of the compounding returns of such investments. Yet if we didn't start when we were 21 and are 41 now, does that mean we should not invest at all because it is "too late"? Of course not!
Logic holds true that even though starting at 21 would have been more favorable than 41, starting now, at 41, is better than waiting another 20 years, to start investing at age 61.
The same could be said of our minds and the development of positive thoughts and focused goal orientation. Even if we have spent 10, 20, 30, 50 years or more neglecting our mind and/or body, TODAY is the day we can begin to take it back, simply through our conscious desire to do so.
The beauty of this gift of life and the freedom of choice we have been given, is that we can start now, today, to begin influencing our mind in a more positive, powerful and productive way. In an instant a decision can be made, that could positively alter your future course of life forever. If and when we find ourselves off track, or slipping from our former commitments to ourselves, we simply recommit and re-engage.
Some days may feel like we are taking two steps forward and one step back, or even one step forward and two steps back…but that's okay! That is called LIFE! We need to continue to focus on living in the present moments and we need to recognize that growth and expansion, whether it be mentally, physically, spiritually, financially or relationally, will sometimes come with a little pain, with some discomfort, with some needed adjustment and adaptation.
If we are to have more, be more, do more and experience more, then common sense tells us we must also expand our capacity to give, to receive, to experience and to enjoy.
As we intelligently pursue the path of personal and professional growth, life can take on a whole new zeal and luster because an inner and innate desire to achieve greatness will become re-awakened within us and we may, for the first time in many years, feel a surge of positive energy, excitement and motivation, at the prospect that we, too, can experience many wonderful, exciting and rewarding things in our life and that we can attract and experience that which we desire.
A Simple 4-Step Process for Generating Personal and Professional Growth:
1) READ: Who and where we are in life today is nothing more than a sum total result of the books we have read, the people we have associated with and the thoughts we have allowed ourselves to think and dwell upon. By consciously CHOOSING to read and consume content that is positive, educational, informative, inspiring, motivational and thought-provoking, we are able to shift our thoughts and the creative energy surrounding our thoughts and words. Over time, this consistent influence from books and other content sources, starts to shape the way we view things; starts to change the way in which we view the world and our place in it; starts to lead to different actions, experiences and results; usually more positive and rewarding due to the types of content being absorbed. Reading just 5-10 pages every day from a great book will make a powerful difference in your life.
2) WRITE: Keep a daily goal setting / gratitude journal. Writing down the top goals for the day helps to focus the mind on what you want and how to get it. Also, writing about wins, losses, happiness, grief, success and failure will help to serve as a filtering mechanism for thoughts and actions, and to better understand how correlated, thought, action and result are inl life.
3) RECITE: The words we speak to ourselves, in our mind or out loud, are some of the most important words that we speak and think. How do we treat ourselves? How to we take care of ourselves? Though it may not come naturally at first, positive self-talk / affirmations are one of the best ways to invoke positive changes in life, in all areas. Daily reciting of positive affirmations, beliefs, meditations and/or goals can all serve the greater purpose of promoting postive change and growth in your life.
4) REPEAT: It has been said that "repetition is the mother of all learning" and it is also a key element in the creation of new habitual ways of being. Daily affirmations, reading/consuming positive books and content, goal review, prioritization of task and project lists and much more are all part of the effort to inspire changes and personal and professional growth.
The longest and most arduous of journeys begins with nothing more than a simple step and the life-long adventure of personal and professional development is no different. It all starts NOW, today, and how we chooose to be from here on out, on a daily basis, will determine the direction and trajectory of our personal and professional growth.
So, What's the Plan?
It is my hope, for myself, as well as for others, that we may daily commit to personal and professional development. We need a plan and we need to daily WORK THE PLAN to the best of our abilities.
Start today by writing out a quick list of 1-10 things that you think are "holding you back" from achieving your full potential in life. Dig deeper and ask follow-up questions. Ask yourself what you can do to overcome and surpass specific issues that may have held you back in the past. Write down the answers that come to you.
Be patient with the process and keep the course. A commitment to growth is actually meant to be a lifelong process, not a temporary one. It is not intended to be something we just use when convenient or when we need or want something. It is a way of being and a way of growing over time.
There are special feelings of thrill, accomplishment and personal satisfacation that accompany the influencing of our minds and thoughts and then the first-hand experience of seeing those thoughts, words and actions, manifesting in our reality the kind of life experience we had envisioned.
This is the power of NOW:
YESTERDAY IS GONE FOREVER.
TOMORROW WILL NEVER COME.
BUT TODAY IS A GIFT…
THAT IS WHY IT IS CALLED "THE PRESENT"
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Munro Murdock is an Entrepreneur, Athlete, Real Estate Broker, Blogger, Father, Author, World Traveler and Podcaster. He resides on West Oahu in Hawaii with his wife and three children. You can Contact Munro by email here.
