How would you like to transform in the coming weeks? Who do you want to be? I’m serious…take 60 seconds and think about how you want to answer that question. Where are you now and where do you want to go?
Just considering that question and thoughtfully answering it sets you apart. Most people just do the next thing never considering if it is moving them closer to who they want to be.
Life Experience
Everyone changes over time due to life experiences…you are not the same person you were in high school, college, in your first job… If you are married, you are not the same person you were when dating, first married, a new parent or a grandparent. Have these experiences made you better? Have you grown and become the person you want to be? Whether the answer to that question is yes or no, if you are breathing there is a reason you are still here and there is a purpose you need to fulfill every day.
Areas of Growth
For however long you have left on this planet, do you want to just let life happen to you, or do you want to intentionally keep growing into the person you want to be? If the latter, how are you going to get there? Understanding who you are may take greater self-awareness through some outside input…assessments and coaching. Next spend some time brainstorming about who you want to be. Look for examples around you and consider asking those you respect for how they would like to see you grow…feedforward. Then it is time to define the areas of focus that will get you there. I have identified four areas for my growth:
- Physical
- Mental
- Spiritual
- Relational (most specifically my marriage)
The challenge is to remember to do the things regularly that I hold as important and find a way to know how I am doing. Because I can be weak at times and lose my way, I created a Daily Scorecard to help remind me and track my progress. While much of life is completely out my control, the areas listed on my scorecard are all very much in my control and therefore a great measurement on how disciplined I am currently.
Focus On Days
While I set longer term goals, I watch my days because it keeps me focused on what I need to do today to be who I want to be. I created my Daily Scorecard on an Excel spreadsheet with 31 days down the left side and columns across the top for each area (habit). I print a new scorecard at the beginning of each month. If you choose to do this, I encourage you to come up with 10 different habits that would help you grow. Having 10 also makes it easy to give yourself a percentage grade for what you accomplished each day. The areas I currently use are:
- Sleep 7 hours
- Quiet time each morning with journaling
- Listen well before and during meetings
- Meet daily nutrition goals (eat at least 1 salad, don’t eat after 7pm…)
- Screens turned off before 10:30pm
- Exercise (lift weights, core workout, bike)
- Take 8,000+ steps
- Read at least 30 minutes (personal growth, biographies)
- Monitor intake of my eyes & ears (avoided unhealthy distractions)
- Nightly walk with my wife (to talk and pray)
The far-right column I reserve for a percentage on how I did that day. At the end of the month, I average this column which gives me a monthly average to compare with previous months. I also review my daily goals to see if any have become too easy and need adjusting. If any are consistently not achieved, I either adjust down or replace them with something better suited. Looking back over the previous months on my clipboard, I see a few changes I have made over time to dial this in and adjust who I want to be.
Keep Going
By the way, you might have days, weeks and even months where you do not fill anything in on your scorecard. Don’t let this keep you from jumping back in there. I have had periods of time where the busyness of life sidetracked me, but I have a training mentality that enabled me to get back on track. I missed the first two weeks of last month but picked back up and kept going.
I believe life is not so much a competition with others as it is a competition with yourself. Whether you try something like this or some other method, I encourage you to take time to define the 2.0 version you want to be and take practical steps every day towards it.
What have you found that helps you keep growing?
