Explosive personal growth
Growth can be gradual. We often grow like plants, imperceptibly. Gradual growth is stable growth that tracks along the same path.
Gradual growth is more of the same only better. For example, learning not to say “umm” during presentations represents gradual growth. One day we look around and realize we’ve changed.
Explosive growth is chaotic and disorienting.
Explosive growth isn’t more of the same. It isn’t gradual. For example, giving your first public presentation isn’t progress along the same trajectory. It’s a new direction that requires new, untested skills.
Life invites you to explosive growth. It comes dressed in the garb of untested opportunity, challenge, crisis, or tragedy. The skills and attitudes you learned during gradual growth help. However, explosive growth requires a leap from the known into the unknown.
6 Things that hinder explosive personal growth
- Inordinate need to succeed
- Contentment with established methods
- Self-confidence turned to apathy
- Judging yourself by the opinions of others
- Need for approval
- Laziness
6 Things that expedite explosive personal growth
- Comfort saying, “I don’t know.”
- Coaching
- Confidence in your ability to learn and acquire new skills
- Questions
- Vision for expanded influence
- Understanding the context of explosive personal growth is discomfort
*****
In the past I believed personal growth was gradual and predictable. However, I’ve grown in my thinking. My experience indicates that life is littered with uncomfortable moments that are opportunities for explosive personal growth.
Additionally, I used to believed doing more of the same was the way to face discomfort. I called it determination. My experience indicates clinging to established attitudes and skills may hinder rather than expedite growth.
Finally, I believe explosive personal growth begins with your decision to embrace rather than reject discomfort.
What hinders explosive personal growth?
What expedites explosive personal growth?
Great post – I recall when I first started working after university that my boss at the time made a point at each of our meetings to encourage me to step out of my comfort zone and do something new. The “just do it” mentality. Fully agree that fear of failure is one of the biggest barriers to trying out new things that lead to explosive growth opportunities. Unfortunaly it seems to strike more the more senior one gets in an organisation!
Tarek,
It is sad that the more senior one gets the more fear can slip in. I wonder if fear grows when we focus on not losing what we have? In other words we have a backward focus?
Best to you,
Dan
Change and Comfort are deciding factors for explosive or gradual growth.
One decides explosive personal growth,other decides gradual personal growth.
Anyone who accepts and welcomes change, he or she grows with time, otherwise time changes the person, and when time changes, then person left behind. Change comes with courage to make decision. Courage comes with conviction and commitment. Explosive personal growth does not depend upon simple, normal or routine decisions, but the decisions against odds, adverse circumstances, situations etc. Sometimes, we take wrong decisions in order to get explosive growth. So, we should align our strength and interest to take decision for explosive personal growth.
Some people are sensitive by nature and cant digest negative feedback easily and become nervous. so, one should take feedback from trusted one only, otherwise some people with some agenda may divert your attention.
Therefore, it is our cognitive inertia that hinders explosive growth. And change expedites that growth.
Ajay,
Thanks for continuing to add value to the LF community.
As I read what you wrote, your words, “left behind” stuck in my thinking. It’s sad that our inertia can result in us being left behind. To me, being left behind means loss of influence and the opportunity to make positive contribution.
You have my regards,
Dan
Paradoxically, I believe that corporate success is directly related to gradual growth and lack of spine. Everybody who could go for a better opportunity is gone when the least promising characters eventually get promoted. I’ve kept observing this for the last 25 years! Explosive growth is what happens to you when & if you’ve got the guts to go your own path and deal with the risks. It’s filled with anxiety and stomach-ache at night BUT when you eventually read a post from this Dan-man in Pennsylvania, you know you’re not alone.
Hooray for your blog Dan, Thank you
Well said Anne, I’m with you on that, you’re certainly not alone. We can change this, slowly but surely we can change this. Richard
Anne,
You encourage me. Thanks for your kind words.
Your comment connects with some others who share your sentiment.
I wonder if a lack of appreciation for what we have to gain and then give back to others causes us to be “hoop jumpers” rather than experience explosive personal growth.
Thanks for stopping in,
Dan
Dan, you have such a way with words! I love this post, and you have hit the nail on the head once again. You have caused me to reflect on my own personal growth…
I have spent 16 years in education (teacher, coach, administrator), am trying to constantly learn and grow, and have had ups and downs along the way. I’ve tried to learn from each situation, success, heartache, celebration, etc.
Alongside my career in education, I am now trying to build a business in network marketing. (Boy, what I am learning about myself!)
While I feel like I have the qualities you describe that will “expedite explosive personal growth,” you made me realize that I have several characteristics that are hindering my growth…one in particular: “an inordinant need to succeed.” Perhaps this comes from experiencing success in education, from my experiences as an athlete and coach… perhaps it is natural to feel this when in a new career?
Thank you for opening my eyes. I hope your next post will be on how to eradicate the hindering characteristics! 🙂
Jennifer,
Thanks for the good word. It’s wonderful reading your encouragement. I wish you success in your new business venture.
Love your candor. I think your honesty allows you to impact others in positive ways.
As I read your comment it made me think about how many times I am surprised that I’m not quite what I thought I was.
hmmm… how to eradicate the hindering characterists?? Now theres a subject!
Cheers!
Dan
I love the concept of “explosive growth” – great post!
We have a saying that we use in our leadership development programs – “If you’re comfortable, you aren’t growing.”
Tim,
Great quote. It makes me uncomfortable. 😉
Best,
Dan
Hey buddy can you spare a paradigm…shift?
You noted ‘questions’ as one trigger, I would add hearing, not just listening, but truly ‘hearing’ the answers.
How to create a culture or environment where that growth is nurtured.
What is the recipe? What are all of the elements and preparation that set the table for the explosion? I think the Ps…proper prior planning… fit here too. Not that you can totally ‘plan’ for explosive growth, but you can pull many of the components together and mix well.
Many of the ‘a-ha’ moments have typically his me at 3 in the morning after agonizing over a conundrum for quite a while. The challenge then is to not hit the ‘send’ button to all my collaborators’ email as the 2×4 insight stick has jarred my frame of reference and made me giddy.
It may be that life has to settle into a routine before a leap can occur. At the turn of the century, it was determined that there wasn’t really much left to discover or measure in the sciences…then Einstein published a little paper.
Yeah, seeing yourself for the first time on an eight foot screen while you are presenting is a surreal shift.
The word, transcendence keeps coming to mind too.
This is an excellent concept to drill down into Dan! Will be pondering this one a while. Thanks!!
Doc,
You’ve said so much in your comment. Thank you!
I’ve found that I think I’m a good listener but my preconceived ideas or my personal agenda get in the way. I have to work really hard to just sit back and listen, to take it in.
Today I met with a local leader and observed him withholding judgement and listening. It was a thing of beauty.
You built a great phrase when you said, “the 2×4 insight stick has jarred my frame of reference.”
As always, thank you for giving back to the LF community.
Dan
What hinders explosive personal growth?
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein’s definition for Insanity.
What expedites explosive personal growth?
Knowing what we know is important, knowing what we do not know is more important.
Jim,
In my world, knowing what I don’t know only happens when people like you enter my life and turn a light on…If I can bear the glare of new light, eventually I grow.
You have my regards,
Dan
Hi Dan, great post and great insights from everybody. I’ll offer one of your own mirrors – sometimes the explosive growth is compressing. That is the event can sit you on you backside with such a jolt you know you must change and you start that process but it may be years before you emerge – I’ve been there. In some ways Doc’s ‘transcendence’ captures it, but not quite. Adding to Jim’s comment – the growth comes from within – when I coach i first assess whether they are up for it – whether they have made the personal shift and commitment to be ready for the leap. Otherwise it is seldom if ever worth the effort (I expect this holds true for sports etc. as well). Right I’m off to explode.
Richard
Richard,
Ka boom!
I hear you saying that explosive growth is followed by another round of gradual growth. I think you nailed it.
Best to you,
Dan
Very good reflexion as always…with LF!
Explosive growth can be stressful as interring into complete new world.
I believe the gradual growth will allow us to adapt and adjust our skills, as will be moving into, to the unknown and untested environment.
The most difficult is to deal with anxiety and curiosity…but if worked inward will provide the support to act and adapt as will go on!
Many Thanks for the comfort of this tip.
Kind regards.
Lenna
Lenna,
Thank you for leaving your insight. I love the expression “new world” When we experience explosive growth I think we do enter a new world.
Success to you,
Dan
For me, the fundamental break on growth has been alack of self-worth, stemming from the lack of unconditional love during those crucial early years of life. Once I found a way to take responsibility for my own growth, I stopped being stunted both personally and professionally. BTW, clearly it’s summer in your part of the world, with growth much on your mind of late! here, it’s cold and rainy and we’re recharging our emotional stores of growth-nourishing resources with bracing walks, good books, thick soups and snuggles!
Sue,
Great to hear from you. I honor your openness. Your point is spot on!
Yes it’s early Summer here and I’m mowing grass and bird watching with my wife. Thanks for the reminder that you are in Australia. I love the international flavor of LF readers.
Stay dry 🙂
Dan
Wonderful article. I too believe that life offer opportunities for explosive growth but that we (humans) avoid these opportunities as much as possible. Leaning towards discomfort to quote Pema Chodron is my favorite notion. Harder to do than it sounds, but it results in big leaps and bounds and “explosive growth”
Cheers,
Dag,
Well said! Looking back at my own life, it seems the things I would have avoided were the greatest growth opportunities.
I appreciate you coming by and leaving your first comment. I hope you continue to share your insights here.
Regards,
Dan
Hey, Dan. One of your “Things that expedite explosive personal growth” – Comfort saying, “I don’t know.” struck a chord with me. To truly grow, “I don’t know” should be followed by “but I’ll find out.” Then do it. In my career, I’ve seen those who have found too much comfort in the first half of the statement, never going any further. Hence, they never went any further. And then there were those who admitted they didn’t know, but took the steps to find out. These are the persons who grew not only in their personal self confidence and knowledge but also in the eyes of others.
Growth like change is a choice.
Great post, Dan.
What hinders explosive personal growth?
Broken down to its most basic form – fear.
What expedites explosive personal growth?
Broken down to its most basic form – love and courage.
Love the post Dan. Here are a couple of thoughts you provoked.
1. Needs for explosive growth:
-Open ears
-Open mind
-Mostly closed mouth
2. I agree with your point six of the context being discomfort and would add that you have to recognize this discomfort as it hits, as it tends to elicit something akin to the fight or flight response which can drive us from the opportunity.
3. I’d add a bit of introspection to the list. In periods of explosive growth, you will likely run into a patch of cognitive dissonance which will require a bit of navel gazing.
Hi Chris,
You added great ideas to this discussion. Thank you.
I’m glad you added the introspection component. That’s becoming more important to me.
Best,
Dan
Dan: This is a great post. I think the key to expediting our growth is our willingness to be honest to ourselves, evaluate where we are at and be willing to get out of our comfort zone. This seems to be an on-going process where we get out of our comfort zone and then once mastered we expand our comfort zone and to move further ahead we have to get out of our now expanded comfort zone once again, restarting the process.
I can appreciate you clarification on gradual and explosive growth. It would be much more challenging to move forward doing the same things over-and-over. As well it would be difficult to move forward and be a leader if we are doing the exact same things as everyone else.
Hi Adam,
Thank you for adding to the conversation. You write eloquently.
Best,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Great post, i really liked this post.
Regards
I have an uncomfortable feeling when I have to address people or do a presentation, I begin to tremble and sometimes forget what to say next! How does one deal with this feeling?
I suggest practice and preparation may help. You have my best wishes