The Tribune

By MICHELLE MILLER

We are growth-seeking beings. This means we are born to grow. However, this quality of growth goes beyond the boundaries of just having university education.

It speaks to growing in areas of our potential, self-awareness, esteem, confidence, self-management, and even creating one’s personal philosophy.

While attending university is not a bad idea, scores of individuals spend their entire adult life in the pursuit of academics, only to find that after all is said and done there is more said than done as it relates to their personal growth.

Indeed, after hundreds of thousands of dollars and endless time, traditional education churns out masses of people armed only with intellectual capital to get a job; often leaving them without much needed interpersonal capital to adequately manage their lives.

Here’s a telling reality, the ones who find themselves glued to the dimly lit bar of life, drowning unresolved sorrows, are both the so-called educated and uneducated.

While they may have started out differently, both find themselves living under the influence.

This speaks to both men and women. We may not find a trailer load of women seated at some dimly lit bar of life, but rest assured that they too – both educated and uneducated – are drowning their sorrow through closet drinking or some other disempowering mechanism.

For reasons such as this, the model of education framed by academics alone has long been outmoded.

In this shifting paradigm, education must expand to a medium that facilitates evolutionary growth. It must envelop self-management, confidence, emotional intelligence and critical thinking components. This happening sooner rather than later may be idealistic, since so much of today’s education offering is more about glowing test scores and GPA averages.

You must take responsibility for your own personal growth. Your personal growth is personal. It is up to you to determine how you will grow.

This means taking a personal interest in your own holistic development; attending seminars, workshops and other programmes that empower you to know who you are and what you are born to deliver.

Because what’s the point of owning some prestigious diplomas if you don’t even like the person in the mirror?

Instead of investing your precious resources in the material trappings of this world, invest in yourself, in your personal growth. Taking responsibility for your life is about responding with ability towards your developmental needs.

You can start right now to do the work on building a better you. Commit a portion of your time and resources to your personal development. This is my number one strategy for success. You can only grow according to what you know. I know that I am only able to grow in all areas of my life because I am committed to investing in myself. Instead of throwing my hard earned dollars behind loads of clothes and shoes, I choose to invest in books and programmes which feed and improve my mind.

What I know for sure is that an expensive pair of shoes cannot enable me to grow. Sure, they may be the latest fashion and look real pretty, but that’s as far as it goes. Give or take a few years and they will still be the same old pair of shoes.

This habit of consumption amounts to spinning wheels. However, the book I bought or workshop I attended that expanded my mind and prepared me for some new opportunity is what I call real growth and a better return on my investment.

Leader to leader, remember that personal growth is about mastering yourself; building mental and emotional capacity to meet life challenges with confidence. Make sure that you are growing and not just spinning wheels.

Indeed we are growth-seeking beings, but we each must choose to grow. To adapt the words of Morgan Freeman, “You must get busy growing (living) or get busy dying.” The choice is always yours.

Living an empowered life is only possible if you are committed to your personal growth. Yes, you definitely do it.

What do you think? Please send your comments to coaching242@yahoo.com or 429-6770.

• Michelle M Miller is a certified life coach, communication and leadership expert. Visit www.talktomichellemiller.com or call 1-888-620-7894; mail can be sent to PO Box CB-13060.