Why Taking Note of Your Personal Growth now could be More Important Than Ever

Five frogs are sitting on a log and 4 plan to get down . How many are left?

The answer is five, because a choice isn't action.

It’s a silly little riddle that author and coach Rich Litvin uses to motivate his readers and clients, but it illustrates one among the central challenges of private development: We all want to be, do and have more, but what percentage can pay the price: to act?

Yes, immediately going outside may be a risk and therefore the global economy is transforming in painful ways. As shut-ins, we’re having trouble finding motivation. Maybe it would be easier to coast?

But what proportion is sitting on the log costing you? Or, to flip it, what could you gain if you acted now to be, do and have more? The whole world is unraveling, but it seems a crisis is filled with opportunity.

PART I: Why Grow Now?
“The price of inaction is way greater than the value of creating an error .” —Meister Eckhart

For some, hunkering down and expecting the storm to pass might sound just like the best thanks to meet this crisis. In reality, it’s the most dangerous.

Hope isn't a strategy; action is that the antidote to almost every challenge. Want to beat this pandemic and thrive? Then it’s time to act. Here’s why.

1. Times of disruption are ripe with opportunity.
“Be greedy only others are fearful.” —Warren Buffett

Ask a Silicon Valley CEO how to kill a giant, and they’ll tell you that to compete with the likes of Microsoft, Apple and Google, the only game in town is to get disruptive. Startups can’t undercut or out-advertise established players, so a blue-ocean strategy is wisest.

We can do an equivalent in our own lives and careers, whether we run a business or not—and what person isn't the CEO of their own “company”? This lockdown is a call for participation for us to grow—to seize the opportunities created by radical shifts in business-as-usual.

For you, this might mean finally launching that new health product, or finding a replacement thanks to help the boss.

2. Times of disruption are full of danger.
“All courses of action are risky, so prudence isn't in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth.” —Niccolo Machiavelli

Yes, opportunity abounds, but if nothing else, this pandemic has shown us that nobody’s job is secure. Thought your work was an essential service? Fate features a way of humbling us, doesn’t it?

This warning isn't to scare you, but hopefully to urge you to ascertain that no-one is entitled to a salary. In the future , you're only purchased the worth you'll create.

When you start treating your career as a business, with you as its CEO and captain of the ship, and plan your success accordingly, your financial vitality will grow.

3. We’ve been benched—make the most of it.
“Patience is additionally a sort of action.” — Rodin

Smart athletes who are sent to the bench don’t waste time sniping the referee. The great ones ask how did I put myself here?—then study their opponents for opportunities. They are always learning.

One guarantee in life is that you simply are going to be stuck within the Waiting Place quite a couple of times. Right now, we can’t go have a beer, get a haircut or continue a primary date. Prom, graduation and even handshakes are canceled.

The appropriate response here is: Accept it and move forward where you'll . Don’t squander this point on the bench with TV, anxiety, stress or fear.

Instead of another episode of Shark Tank, why not spend that lunch hour reading a life-changing article or book? Working with a coach? Journaling about your goals?

4. If you’re not focused on you, you’re focused on the noise.
“Focus on what only you can do. Give the rest of it away.” —Elise Mitchell

Are we flattening the curve? Has the virus peaked? Is the supply chain broken? (If you’re still eating bananas and drinking coffee, the solution is not any .)

For most people the healthiest response is, that’s not my concern. Unless you’re a titan of industry, elected politician, epidemiologist, or own a cargo vessel or two, you've got little to no influence over those things. “I got to read the news daily so I are often informed!” some say. That’s a valiant notion, but ask whether the news just angers you or moves you to act?

Stop. Every minute of attention that you simply specialise in events outside of your influence may be a minute you’re not investing in your personal growth and happiness. Be a Stoic: specialise in what you'll control and ignore the remainder .