Growth is a Dance

Regardless of what level of success you are at in your personal or professional life, you can always find opportunities to expand your skills and avenues to develop.

When was the last time you put aside time to reflect and evaluate your own growth and development?

Expanding your skills can be the first step to recognising your professional future.

It’s good to acknowledge your strengths in what you do, however, in order to stay relevant sometimes it’s not enough to stay the same without growing in your current career.

The following are a few tips I found has worked for me:

Saying yes to discomfort zones – when you say no you are also saying no to options and possibilities. Learning how to get out of our comfort zone can take a lot of will power to change our mindset. To break through that bubble, start with one step at a time. Think about and consider saying yes to something that you would normally say no to. For me a year ago, that was taking the lead on complex projects and presenting in front of c-suites.

Always be listening – be curious about your industry and be open to new opportunities and connections. Don’t be shy about sharing your thoughts and insights.

Whilst training is an important aspect of growth, opportunities can also be transformed into growth. Search of opportunities that challenges you to grow new skills, stretch beyond your expertise to learn more about your potential.

Simplify your plan – sometimes we just want to be everything and that can leave us too little time to commit to each one. Without a goal and plan you might lack focus and direction. When creating your plan, relevance is also crucial! Simply your main ideas to align with your priorities to create actionable steps. Share them with your colleague, manager or mentor as they can be great resources to help you start foster your development.

Reflect, reflect, reflect – having a goal and plan in place can be exciting, however, we live in a world of distractions and may have an influence on how we progress leading us to experience frustration and doubt. It’s important to keep track of your accomplishments (big or small) along the way and take a moment to pause and reflect on your learnings and value them as a opportunity to grow.

Believing in what you have and what you want to build. Find the ways to grow that work best for you and put them into practice, by honing your skills and taking risks you’ll create an invitation for powerful opportunities to grow your career by leaps and bounds.

The process is important than the end result – plan, experiment and celebrate success.

Remember ... Be easy on you … Growth is a Dance!