Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, is famously quoted as saying, “When you’re green you’re growing. When you’re ripe you rot.” The gist of his message being that if you are not actively pursuing growth, then, well, you are probably on the way out. Of life. There’s no such thing as passively cruising along in neutral.
At this time of year, most of us are in wild agreement with Mr. Kroc, as we tear off a clean sheet of paper to set fresh goals for the New Year.
These goals usually fall into the same few categories: a career or financial goal (make more money/get more done); a health-related goal (lose more weight); a family/relational goal (set those special date nights with the honey); or a spiritual goal (I’m going to spend 20 minutes a day in prayer and quiet contemplation. Really, I am!)
Nothing wrong with these. But as everyone in the free world gears up for resolution mode, I wonder what would happen if we approached this exercise from a perspective of growth rather than achievement?
Personal growth is a bit tougher to nail down than goal-setting, because it’s not necessarily something you can point to right away. It’s much more difficult to measure an increase in your capacity for love, for instance, or the expansion of your emotional resilience, compared to the relative ease of checking off a short-term result. Growth is more of a lifelong process, a journey.
As you go about setting your plans to conquer your world in 2011, why not consider how your goals are helping you to grow and develop your self? How are they making you become more self-aware? More emotionally mature? A deeper, more reflective thinker? How will your goals develop you to become a more generous friend, spouse, or co-worker? Are your goals generating a richer meaning in your life? How are they stretching your intellect? How will they cause you to positively influence and give back to others?
Growth invariably involves pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone, and comes from experiences that are generally difficult. Here are some ideas to stack up against your goals to see if they are truly growth-oriented.
- Do something that terrifies you
- Spend time with people who are smarter than you
- Get with someone who won’t take any of your bullshit (a coach, a therapist, or a good spouse will do)
- Suffer a little bit
- Engage with people you would not otherwise engage with
- Stretch your mind with material that makes you uncomfortable
- Put yourself in a situation where you are over your head
- Get taken down a couple of notches
- Try something you’ve never done before
Perhaps you should put the results-oriented goals on a shelf this year. Those are easy. It’s the growth experiences that will make a real difference for your life in 2011.
Photo by Nance Marie, used with permission.
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