This 1 Phrase is Standing in Your Way
You might be shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to the innovation, positive change and even the growth you’re looking for. By that I mean, you may be making those results you’re looking for even more difficult to achieve. Results of any sort by the way. It could be more free time, more money, a certain level of success, or even more joy and fulfillment.
Growth, personal or professional, isn’t easy and for most it doesn’t come naturally. It’s hard-won, potentially uncomfortable, and at the same time, the most rewarding and meaningful thing you can do. The more work that I do in this space, the more I hear and see people becoming their own worst enemies on the road to achieving what they’re looking to achieve or becoming what they’re looking to become.
The phrase between you and the innovation, positive change and even growth you’re looking for?
I know.
And all the variations thereof. “I already know…” “I already do…” “I’ve always…”
To your credit, there are many things that you undoubtedly do know. You’ve reached a level of achievement and success that has landed you right in the seat you’re sitting in right now. This conversation isn’t to invalidate any of that. But when you sign on the dotted line of “I know” you rob yourself of anything else you could learn or grow from. There’s no power there.
Even if you do know, even if you’ve heard it before, or even heard it a million times, what will give you power to create the change you’re looking for is by looking for what you don’t know, or where you’re not applying whatever it is that you already do know. Here’s some generalities to get you thinking…
Getting a mentor is something that most consider is a good idea. Great! You know that. But even if you already have a business mentor, where else could you use leadership, empowerment and support? What area of your life or business would you still benefit from mentorship? In your teamwork, relationships, or somewhere else?
Innovation comes from thinking differently. Great! You know that, too. But what does it take for you to apply that when you’re in a situation that appears to have no options? Or better yet, what does it take for you to apply thinking differently when you have a proven option that’s an easy answer? That might even be harder.
Here’s one that’ll make your head spin. You know that humbling yourself to “not knowing” is the secret to growth. You might be reading this thinking, ahh, that’s good, Sterling, but I already know that! And I hope you do. But even reading this blog right here and now, what might you not know about knowing? What can you still learn or realize newly about the idea or even yourself?
That’s where growth, innovation and positive change lives. Not from the things that you already know. It comes (and can only come) from the unknown — the unknown of yourself, the unknown about others and the unknown of the world. Surrendering yourself to the fact that there is almost always deeper you can go is the key to finding those results you’re looking for.
If you’re not following me on instagram already, I invite you to follow me by clicking the follow button. Not because I’ve discovered something or can share something that you don’t know or haven’t heard before (although maybe I can). But I offer my posts as a reminder of how much deeper you might be able to go with them. And the inspiration to actually follow through with it.
The number of ideas floating around online and everywhere else these days makes “knowing” the words of growth easy. Most these days can talk about the art of the possible, the keys to innovation, the growth that’s required to [fill in the blank]...
But the real power, the way to realize that growth (vs. just knowing about it) is to humble yourself and take a knee from knowing to look for where maybe you don’t.