Jon G. 

Program Manager, R&D

In my LinkedIn article, I confessed to you all that I didn’t always have a growth mindset. Hopefully, after learning my story, you saw that shifting my mindset completely changed the course of my life. Now, I’m more focused on both personal and professional growth, which has helped me feel more fulfilled in all aspects of my life. 

So over the past 10ish years, what have I done to incorporate more self-led growth into my life, and what would I recommend to those reading?

Find Your Why

My suggestion is to get very personal with this one. Tie it to a deep emotion. Really keep digging to get to the core of your “why”. To quote the great Dr. Julie Gurner: “We're often told to ‘let go of it’ or ‘move on’ or ‘don't let it bother you’ because if we hang on to negative emotions in the wrong way, they can be destructive. But some of the best out there use the massive amounts of energy that come from emotions and turn it into something powerful.” The fuel that emotions give us can be almost endless. Connect to that emotion and you’ll never run out of gas.

Surround Yourself With It

I’m sure we’ve all heard the adage that you’re a product of the five people you spend the most time with. Use this as an opportunity to check your surroundings. A lot of people I follow on social media are growth-oriented people. You are what you eat. Get involved. Join professional development groups within your organization– or even better, start one! The energy in the growth space is contagious and surrounding yourself with like-minded people is a huge advantage.

Empower Yourself

Give yourself permission to dream. I’ve always said the only time I fail at something is if I quit. What I’ve come to realize is this mindset is powerful not only because it deters me from giving up, but more so because it breaks down typical limitations people place on themselves. I truly believe there are a lot of things out there I can do, provided I just don’t quit. This mindset helps boost my confidence, empowering me to approach new problems and challenges with a strong belief that I’ll be able to handle it.

Don’t Burn Out

Growth is hard. They’re called growing pains and not growing pleasantries for a reason. You simply cannot show up as your best self if you are depleted, burned out, or exhausted. 

You may have heard the expression “do things that fill up your gas tank”, meaning: make sure you take the time for yourself to decompress. I think there’s an important second part to that which is often overlooked: gas mileage, or how far you can travel on one tank of gas. A car with a full tank of gas doesn't last very long if your gas mileage is garbage. Vice-versa, you won’t get very far if your tank is on empty, regardless of how good your gas mileage is. 

You can do things to "fill up your tank," like take a vacation, workout, go out to dinner with a friend, but how's your gas mileage doing? The ways that we can increase our gas mileage may not have an immediate or marked feeling that they are helping. For example, I don't always feel better after meditating. Sometimes I don't feel any different, but I bet that's increasing my gas mileage. The things we incorporate in the mundane day to day, that may not always feel like they are making a difference, are what gives us better gas mileage. Do more of those. 

Do What Works For YOU

There are endless tips out there on what is required to be successful. A lot of them are contradicting. Some say to wake up super early, and others will tell you to prioritize sleep and wake up when your body is ready. Some will tell you to read a book a month, others will advise downloading an app to get a book summary in 10 minutes so you can “read” a book a day. I could go on and on, but the point here is that none of them are wrong. The people offering up this advice, including myself, have simply found what works for them. Really be intentional about reflecting on what is and is not working for you. Don’t feel pressure to fall into a mold of what people are telling you to do or not do. Your favorite TikTok/Instagram influencer doesn’t know you at all. Don’t blindly listen to them. Or me. Only listen to you.

My parting advice is this: no one is coming to save you. That can be a scary thought, but also an empowering one. You do not need to wait for anybody. You literally have the power to change the trajectory of your life, and it can happen quickly. That thing you’ve always wanted to do that you haven’t done yet? Stop making excuses and go do it. Figure out a way to get it done. You know what separates the mega-successful from the rest of us? Very little. 

One of the things that I see stand out in top performers is their consistency. In my opinion, the single most important thing any of us can do in life is be consistent. Canyons take millions of years of consistent water flow to be formed. You can create whatever life you want if you choose to be consistent. 

I leave you with the image below. It may be cliche, but this one is worth sharing. Even if the growth may seem small (1.00 vs 1.01), over 365 days, look at how much improvement you will have.