Growth > Achievement

Hey everybody, it’s Adell and I’m speaking directly to YOU via my new blog (which will be updated weekly). So if you are with me now and reading this, thank you! Hopefully, your support will be reciprocated with some advice from me that leads to growth, which just so happens to be what this first blog post is all about. After a simple google search of the word ‘growth’ you’ll quickly find that it is a noun, but you’ll also see words like development, increasing, expansion, and evolution. Notice that nowhere in the definition or synonyms of the word ‘growth’ is ‘achievement’ found, and for good reason. I don’t need achievements, accolades, accomplishments, trophies, medals, or a certificate. What I desperately do need, is growth. If you have ever achieved or accomplished anything in life, ask yourself if you have grown spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, or financially. Hopefully, you’re able to answer yes to one or more of these forms of growth, or else what good was this “achievement”? Trophies and achievements are expendable, growth is eternal!

Unfortunately, we do live in an achievement driven society. Parent’s doing a child’s homework or science project might bring home the shiny sticker and an “A”, but is that child truly growing? Fasting for 10 days, completing a cleanse, drinking a Fit Tea, and getting a tummy-tuck are short-lived shortcuts in comparison to putting in the work and grinding through 45 minutes of exercise daily over an extended period of time. A child doesn’t have control of giving themselves an “A”, that’s up to the teacher. However, they do have control over growing and becoming each and every day working intentionally to evolve and become a better and smarter version of themselves.

So how is growth achieved? It’s earned, day-in and day-out. Look back at those synonyms for growth up above. That last word, evolution, really stands out to me. When I think of evolution, I think about us (humans), and I think about life. Try to comprehend the amount of growth that it took for us to evolve into the amazing species that we are today. We have not survived through thousands upon thousands of years without an amazing amount of evolving as a people, or through centuries filled with growth. And guess what, we’re still growing, evolving, and becoming. But our incredible, continued growth as a species is the macro side of today’s lesson. The micro is how this applies to you, and your life. My challenge to you is to chase growth, chase daily growth. Work towards growing every single day through your actions and behaviors. And if you do that, if your actions and behaviors are aligned with what it is that you are chasing, I promise you, substantial growth is yours for the taking.

And oh, the absolute best part about growth is that they can’t take it away from you, no matter what. If you win money, it can be spent or lost. If you get a promotion, you can still be fired. If you win a trophy, it can be taken away or lost. However, the things you did to earn these things, the growth it took to accomplish these feats, that can’t be stolen or taken away. Listen, I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate outcomes. I am, however, suggesting that if we focus our intent on the process of growth, and celebrating it along the way, in the end we are going to expect the accomplishing of whatever it is we’re chasing. This will be a feeling, and a process, that you’ll want to continue to replicate, I promise.