How to Have the Courage for Personal Growth

Why is a Personal Growth Plan Scary?

Most people don’t have a personal growth plan. They stumble through life, with no sense of purpose—or worse, they settle for what they have and bitch about everyone who makes a different choice, a choice to grow throughout their lifetime.

Why do people settle for the crumbs when they could have a seat at the table?

Some settle because they don’t know how to grow. They want to, but they don’t have the tools to transform their life.

Most people seem to settle for less than their full potential out of fear: fear of failure, fear of success (it’s a real thing!), fear of change, fear of the unknown—these powerful emotions grip us by the throat, squeeze the life out of us until we panic and crawl back into our comfort zone, and then slip back into the shadowy recesses of our mind where the fear lays in wait, coiled like a viper waiting to ambush our next attempt at anything ambitious.

It takes an extraordinary amount of courage to face these fears—and it all starts with facing the reality of your life. You aren’t where you want to be because of the choices you’ve made.

The courage to own your choices and their consequences is the first step to developing a personal growth plan. As long as you hold to the mistaken belief that outside forces control your destiny, that your present condition is the consequence of other people’s behavior, that you are not responsible—these erroneous beliefs are the shackles on your mind that hold you in the fear trap. You will always believe you aren’t good enough, you will always be jealous of those who have more shiny toys, you will always be afraid you’re missing out, and you live a life of fear balanced with regret.

You can choose a different path. You can choose to live a meaningful, well-lived life, full of purpose, joy, and rich in relationships and accomplishments.

That choice starts with recognizing you aren’t who you could be, that you are where you are because of your choices, that you have the power to make different choices, engage in learning new behaviors, learn how to take control of your life, learn how to reflect on your thoughts and expand your awareness of your potential.

That is scary—one rollercoaster after another, constantly looking failure in the eye and asking, “What lesson are you going to teach me today?”

Most people don’t have that kind of courage.

Click here if you think you do, and would like more information about how we can help you.