If You're Not Growing, You're Dying
If I could sum up the most important thing I've learned from all of my extensive research into motivational psychology, it's this: if you're not growing, you're dying.
I know it sounds a bit brash, maybe a little overdramatic, but this point should not be lost on anyone. If you aren't getting better, you are getting worse. If you aren't making improvements in a particular area of your life, you are most certainly regressing in that area.
As a gardener, I deal with the management of plants. I assist in the growing process and do everything possible to ensure that they thrive instead of wither away.
Look at a flower, for instance. If it isn't in the process of growing, it is fading and will eventually die. In nature, there are very few examples of neutrality. Nature is in a constant process of birth, life, death, and rebirth. Even things that aren't 'alive' in a traditional sense are still changing.
Ask yourself, am I growing or dying?
This applies to all areas of your life. Take your relationships for example. If you aren't becoming closer to your loved ones, you are growing apart. It isn't to say that relationships will be budding roses all the time, as sometimes you've got to get pricked by some thorns to get to the good stuff. If you try to remain static within a relationship, you will inevitably find that you are no longer in the space you want to be.
By embracing this growth, you open yourself up to deepening your connection and appreciation for your life. You won't fear the change, you will welcome it. Novelty is the spice of life, not familiarity.
You can still stop and smell the roses from time to time. In fact, taking time out of your week to slow down and recharge is an important part of the growth process. Most people need recovery time in their process of change. But staying in a neutral state in relation to your life will inevitably lead to complacency and then to decay.
For years, I became comfortably complacent, and it was nearly fatal
I've detailed my personal journey over the last few months at length through this blog, and you can find more about that in some of the posts I've linked to in my signature. But what led me to make a change was an overwhelming sense that I had lost my way. It was as if I was wandering around without a vision of myself, without a plan to better myself, and generally allowing my cynicism and pessimism overtake most of my focus.
Truthfully, I was slowly dying inside. This quiet death became louder and louder until I could no longer ignore it. I knew I needed to make a change, and by coming to terms with my personal decline gave way to my personal revival.
I began by improving my physical health, running almost every day. And then I began focusing on my creative mind, which I had mostly left dormant the past few years. Eventually, I have worked on all major areas of my life, and the results have been incredible. It's amazing what a few simple actions will do for your sense of self and appreciation of life in general.
Begin today by analyzing the important aspects of your life, and finding ways to grow within them. Find ways to communicate more deeply with your partner. Seek out that social group you've been meaning to attend as a way to foster community. Write more. Exercise more. Create more. Do whatever you love, and push yourself within that area.
You will soon find that growth is the most empowering state to live within. It sure beats dying.
All uncredited pictures from the pixabay.com
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