Growth

Let the wise listen and add to their learning. Proverbs 1:5

If you're serious about growth, here are 4 things you must do:

(1) Make a commitment to change. Most of us want things to get better -without having to change anything. To grow, you must commit yourself to
not only accepting change - but to seeking it! Listen: "Let us...go onto maturity" ( Hebrews 6:1 NIV).

(2) Focus on your strengths. Peter Drucker said, "The great mystery isn't that people do things badly, but that they occasionally do things well. The only thing that's universal is incompetence. Strength is always specific. Nobody ever commented that the great violinist, Jascha Heifetz, couldn't play a trumpet very well." If you try to be good at everything, you'll end up good at nothing. God gave you specific gifts. Find them and use them for His glory!

(3) Put yourself in a growth environment. Certain fish grow according to the size of their environment. Put them in a small aquarium and they remain small. Release them into the ocean and they grow to their intended size. And you are the same! If you spend your time with the wrong crowd in the wrong place doing the wrong things, you'll never experience growth.

(4) Learn to enjoy the journey. Most Grand Masters of chess learn and relearn their moves over a period of 15 years before winning their first world title. That's almost a fifth of their lives! If you're going to spend that much time doing something, you'd better like it. If the destination appeals to you but you're not enjoying the journey, you'd be wise to seek God's guidance and make sure you're heading in the right direction.