Discovering the gift of growth
“What you get will never make you truly happy – who you become will.” – Tony Robbins
Progress equals happiness. The gift of growth is extraordinary because it allows us both the privilege and opportunity to give back by becoming more. When we’re growing and we have something to give, we feel alive and like our life is meaningful.
You have the opportunity to embrace the gift of growth each and every day. You have the unique ability to architect your life’s experience by setting goals for yourself and taking massive action to achieve them.
But just achieving goals will never make you happy in the long term. It’s ultimately learning how to continue your personal growth – as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals – that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.
Often, our biggest growth comes from the deepest pain. Experiencing pain in life is inevitable – but it’s the most difficult times that make you strong. It’s the heartbreak that makes you love more passionately and authentically. It’s failure that makes you determined. And it’s not getting what you want, or expect, that makes you grateful for what you already have.
So remember, it’s not what you get in life that makes you happy – it’s discovering how to develop personal growth in the long term.
How to continue your personal growth
Do you feel like you’ve hit a plateau with your personal growth? Maybe you started out with big goals, like getting healthy or learning a new skill, but you’ve accomplished them. Or you’re pretty satisfied with your life overall. Don’t be fooled – the gift of growth isn’t a one-time deal. It’s something you can make the most of every minute of every day.
1. Feed your mind
Feeding your mind is essential to discover how to continue your personal growth. Commit just 30 minutes a day to learning something new. Listen to a podcast that inspires you on your drive home from work, or read something with a philosophy or strategy that can improve the quality of your life, your career, your family, your happiness and your joy. Use Tony Robbins programs, like Ultimate Edge, to overcome any obstacles holding you back. Because remember, all great ideas in life have to be pursued.
2. Learn that the secret to living is giving
You can run marathons and reach the peak of your career, but you’ll never feel fulfilled if you don’t commit to growth in the art of giving back. That’s why Tony has dedicated his life to giving back and serving more. Through his partnership with Feeding America, Tony has committed to providing 1 billion meals to families facing food insecurity by 2025. Begin your own life of volunteerism by giving a meal today. Just a $10 donation can provide 200 meals for those in need. Then look into how to continue your personal growth through philanthropy in your local community.
3. Face your fears
We all have fears: fear of failure, fear of loneliness or fear of more concrete things, like heights and spiders. Facing these fears is one of the best ways to use the gift of growth to your advantage. If you fear failure, do something today that you just might fail at. Go skydiving. Volunteer to give a speech. The more scared you are, the more personal growth you’ll experience.
Examples of embracing the gift of growth
The gift of growth is given to us all – we just need to learn how to recognize it. Life will always give you a sign when it’s time for you to evolve as a human being. Sometimes that sign is more obvious than others.
Michael Phelps
Everyone knows who Michael Phelps is – he’s won the most medals in Olympic history. They might even know about his many publicized stumbles. But what they don’t know about is how these emotional struggles helped him learn how to develop personal growth. He says, “Without the lows of 2014, there is no 2016… Looking back, there’s no way I’d ever be able to be present, happy and enjoy the process of watching these little humans grow up in the world.”
In the Tony Robbins Podcast episode “Becoming Michael Phelps,” hear Michael and Tony discuss how he’s learned – and grown – from the highs and lows of a highly publicized career, and how he’s become a better man because of it.
Cedric King and Richie Harkham
This U.S. Army Master Sergeant isn’t a household name like Phelps, but his story about the gift of growth is just as inspiring. Cedric King woke up from a coma in Afghanistan to discover that his legs had been amputated after he landed on an IED. Yet he says, “I was given the opportunity to learn and grow and be better because of the tragedy.” And he would do it all over again.
After a devastating motorcycle accident, Richie Harkham faced years of pain and rehabilitation. When he received a life-changing graft donation from a young boy, he committed himself to building a school in the boy’s honor. That boy gave him not only new life, but also the gift of growth. Hear their stories of tremendous growth in the podcast “Could Tragedy Be Your Greatest Classroom?”
You don’t have to be an Olympian or an accident survivor to unlock how to continue your personal growth. How will you embrace the gift of growth today?
What’s your top need that drives your life?
In order to fully use and share our gifts, we must understand how our human needs shape our thoughts, behaviors and actions. Take this free quiz to discover your top human need and how it shapes you.