I want to share with you the following tips for personal development from a book I read by John C. Maxwell, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. At every major turn in life we are faced with a choice, requiring us to make a decision, or a trade-off if we are going to grow as a person. Nothing in life makes more of a difference between mediocrity and reaching our fullest potential than the choices we make when we are at the crossroads of life. Many people make life more difficult because they make bad choices, succumbing to their fears and the need to feel safe.
The bottom line is you can never move forward – growing as a person – without giving up something you value in the present. You must start to see trade-offs as opportunities for personal development. You can only grow through change, which means exchanging something you value in the present for a better future. As John says, “When you want something you have never had, you must do something you’ve never done to get it.” And when you commit your time and energy to doing something new, something you are doing in the present will have to be changed or eliminated. Unfortunately, the loss of what we used to value is felt immediately, while the benefit of our pursuit is not realized until some unknown time in the future. Nevertheless, if you want to grow as a person toward your potential, you need to keep trading in the things you value.
Henry David Thoreau said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” Personal development is never easy, but if you are going to move forward you will no doubt be faced with giving up something you love.
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