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Do you want to be above average and achieve so much more? Am sure most people will answer yes to this question. To desire to be more is to be alive, and is our inherent nature. Growth is not a goal, it is a continous process.  As the adage goes, “Life is a journey and not a destination. ”

Below is some ways which can help us to continuously grow.

1.      Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is about knowing who you are and of course this is more than knowing your name. This is knowing that you are more than just flesh and blood and that you are made in God’s image. This is waking up to our inner being and our inner power. When we are awake to our inner self not only will we be able to identify our desires and our ambitions but we will also come to realise that we can realise our desires. Without self awareness, we go through life, believing that our desires are only castles in the air. Such a belief makes us perform well below our potential.

Jennifer Hautman at selfcreation.com says, “Having clarity about who you are and what you want (and why you want it), empowers you to consciously and actively make those wants a reality. Otherwise, you’ll continue to get “caught up” in your own internal dramas and unknown beliefs, allowing unknown thought processes to determine your feelings and actions.”

2.      Have the 4 minute mile attitude

Before Roger Bannister ran the four minute mile it had never been done. But he worked at it and believed against all odds that it was possible and of course it was. It was possible because he believed it to be. Belief has amazing power, if there is something you after, back it up with very strong belief and it will be. You just have to believe it, the magic is in the believing.

3.      Follow your bliss

In many cases we spend our lives doing what we don’t love. This is not because we don’t have a passion for anything. Each one of us has something that they love doing. We are all born with different gifts, talents, interests and capabilities. However, we drop our passions and take on things we don’t enjoy for a variety of reasons such as pleasing our parents or making money.  There are many reasons that I see this as a mistake. When you are doing something you are passionate about, ideas flow naturally, your creativity is at its best, and making money will just come naturally. On the other hand if you are doing something you hate, you will struggle because those who put their heart into it will most certainly perform better than you. So not only will you be miserable that you are doing something you have no interest in but you will also find it hard to succeed.

4.      See possibilities

To rise above the average Joe, you must have a positive outlook on life. Rather than being quick to see the worst in people see the best. Rather than being quick to fear be at peace. See possibilities, see what can be and your positive attitude will pay off in life. Even in the darkest hour, you will be comforted by knowing that dawn is around the corner. I like the following words of wisdom from George Bernard Shaw, he says, “Some men see things as they are and say, “Why?” I dream of things that never were and say, “Why not?”

5.      Be selective when choosing friends

The people you spend time with, determine who you become in life. If you spend time with people who have no motivation to become more, who are quick to blame and are always talking about how unfortunate they are, then you are likely to end up that way. Our social circle influences us in more ways than we know and friends have a great influence on us. So if you wish to reach to the top, you need to constantly feed off people who lift you up. In addition you can also read motivational books, watch motivational videos, or listen to motivational audios.

6.      Love life

How many people do you know love their lives? How many people do you know enjoy each day? From my observations, I see that most of us, are in a constant state of complaining, nothing is ever good enough and the outlook is always terrible. Can you imagine what a difference it would be to love life and to enjoy this precious gift. If we did not those eyes that see the worst in everything, what would we see. Is there really so much to hate in this world, or is complaining about the weather something we are accustomed to? Think about it.

7. Go the extra mile

I really like this point and am sure I have written about it in my other posts. Going the extra mile simply means doing more than just our original target. Say for example, you aim to write a 2000 words report. When you have reached the 2000 words think of something to add on and instead make it 2500. So if reaching 2000 words was going to be your best, it means that by reaching 2500 you would have done more than your best. Applying this attitude in everything we do, will make us superior in whatever we get our hands on. Because we will give it that final touch of excellence and that final feel of perfection. Steve Pavlina has written an related post to this article titled, How to Get From a 7 to a 10.

8. Do not conform

Most of us buy into other people’s ideas and thoughts without even questioning it. If someone says, ‘It’s hard to get a job’, we immediately buy into that. If someone says that, ‘you will never make it’, we fall for it. Do we have to fall for it? No. Do we have to accept everything just because someone says it so? No. We have freedom to ask questions, and we have the freedom to see things differently if we wish to.

So instead of just conforming, have your own mind. Evaluate, analyse, compare, contrast and then make your own point of view. If you are always conforming you run the risk of becoming dogmatic. Quite frankly, your intellect lies dormant and your mental capabilities go to waste.

9. Practise what you read

The personal development industry is huge, and of course there is lots of very useful life-changing information available. However, I hear many people say, “this has not helped me”, or “waste of money”. More than 50% of people who buy the books will not even read them. Some will read just a few pages and drop the book. A tiny percentage that manages to complete the book, will not practise what they have read. This is the truth. Am sure you have observed this tendency.

It is a real shame because the information given can be life-changing if implemented. This reminds me of the Parable of the Sower in the bible, in which  a sower scattered seeds on the ground, some seeds fell on rocky ground, some seeds fell on good earth, and some seeds fell amongst the thorns. The seeds which fell on good earth are the only ones which gave a good harvest. In the same way, personal development information will only be as productive as the person that receives it. Period.

personal development self awareness four minute mile