How to recognize your personal growth through the eyes of others
The self-development journey is long.
Reminders of how far we’ve come though are everywhere.
We just need to make the effort to see them.
Seeing Ourselves through Someone Else
Recently, I was having a casual conversation with a friend from work.
We were chatting about upcoming vacations, hobbies, and other things we’re looking forward to in the coming months.
As the conversation turned from our personal lives back to work my friend said something that took me a bit by surprise.
He said, “You know, you seem very comfortable leading meetings. How do you do it?”
It took me a bit by surprise.
After several years of managing projects, I take it for granted sometimes how much I’ve learned and improved.
I replied, “I just put myself out there. If I know that I’m supposed to be in the room and there’s a clear objective for the meeting, I’m golden. I clear my mind and work towards solving the problem in front of me. I found a way for me to feel comfortable. It just takes time for everyone to do the same and find what works for them.”
My answer took me by surprise again because the response was automatic—like flexing a muscle.
That’s the thing about experience.
It compounds over time so much that we may not realize how much we’ve improved until we’re not even looking.
4 Steps to Improve Our Self-Development Awareness
To help us be more attentive to the progress we’re making in our lives, here are four steps we can take to improve our awareness:
Step #1: Share
Share your interests with others. Share your viewpoints. Share what you know. If you see someone struggling with something that you’ve done before, teach them how to do it too. By being of service to others, others will freely give us feedback that can help us improve ourselves.
Step #2: Listen
Listen to the experiences and feedback from others. When we open ourselves up to the thoughts of others, we take on the ideas and the reasons behind those ideas. We don’t have to agree about everything, but we can ask questions and listen carefully to gain deeper insights into someone else’s process.
Step #3: Reflect
Reflect on what you learn from the conversations you have with others. Take what works for you. Experiment and build on what you’ve already learned in your own life. If someone you know thinks you’re good at public speaking, consider using that talent to spread ideas. If someone you know thinks you work well with emerging professionals, consider teaching a class or mentoring a recent graduate.
Step #4: Act
Act on the criticisms, feedback, and praise to dive deeper into the things people see in you. Knowing that someone respects your ability in a particular area of your career or life can help you target that ability as something to double down on. Identifying a specific skill or interest can help you refine it even more.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes the feedback we need on our progress happens when we least expect it to. Being ready with an open heart and mind can be the difference between floating through life or engaging with it.
Until next week, here are links to what I’ve been working on and treasures I’ve found out in the creative wilderness.
Enjoy!
Recent Finds
Hannah Schmidt — How to Build Your Career Roadmap (Instagram) | This post is an impactful, quick guide for someone trying to craft their career what they want. In 5 steps, Hannah explains the primary building blocks of a career and how to use them. As she explains, “performance is merely the entry ticket.” Knowing where you want to go in your career can be vital to actually getting there.
Arianna Huffington — Virtual Fatigue Is Real — and So Is the Science on Taking Breaks (Blog) | While many have begun to return to the office in person, virtual meetings are here to stay. This article was an intriguing dive into how the duration of virtual meetings can effect performance of those who attend them. The science behind virtual fatigue is fascinating and the tips in this post from Arianna could be quite useful tools to combat it.
Matt D’Avella — What Video Games teach you about slow growth (Video) | In this short, but wonderful video, Matt discusses how video games help us build up self-efficacy (the belief that we can achieve our goals). Long term changes in our lives come from habits. Habits come from quick wins. Video games have the power to help us build both. We can replicate the process from there and create our own habit-building adventures in our everyday lives.
Quote of the Week
“Self-discipline is about leaning into resistance. Taking action in spite of how you feel. Living a life by design, not by default. But most importantly, it’s acting in accordance with your thoughts—not your feelings.”
—Sam Thomas Davies
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
