Misti Green

Important Truth: Growth happens slowly and then all at once. If you don't learn to recognize your own growth in its most subtle forms, you may become discouraged. Here are 9 hidden signs of your personal growth: (bookmark this for the next time you feel stuck) 1. You start embracing the embarrassment of being a beginner. The only way to accomplish something meaningful is to endure days, weeks, months, or even years of embarrassing failure. The beginner’s embarrassment is actually a positive signal. Embrace that beginner's embarrassment and you will change your life. 2. You stop concerning yourself with how your growth makes others feel. When you're on your journey to growth, some people won't like it. Your growth, focus, and improvement are exposing something in them: Their insecurities, their fears, their lack of ambition. You can show them empathy and love, but ultimately, you are not responsible for how your journey to self-improvement makes others feel. 3. You start feeling scared of the things you're working on. One thing I’ve learned: The self-doubt never goes away, you just get a little bit better at moving forward in spite of it. Being strong doesn’t mean masking your self-doubt behind arrogance and bravado. Being strong means opening up about it and continuing to march forward into the unknown. 4. You stop focusing on sounding impressive to others. We spend far too much time worrying about impressing others and not enough time focusing on impressing ourselves. Focus on the internal, not the external, and everything will fall into place. 5. You stop complaining about things outside of your control. When you complain, you’re giving too much power to the thing you complain about. Your entire life will change when you take back that power. 6. You start embracing the changes in your identity. ​The Paradox of Change says that the only constant in life is change. Instead of fighting it, start embracing the change—be dynamic, be adaptable. There is no Past You to cling to, there is no Future You to worry about. There is just the Present You to take action. 7. You start embracing being wrong The most successful people don't have the best answers—they ask the best questions. They realize that finding the truth is much more important than being right. In fact, they legitimately enjoy being wrong. They embrace new information as software updates to their brain. 8. You start setting (and enforcing) healthy boundaries. Establishing healthy boundaries and getting comfortable with saying NO is a cheat code for life. 9. You start cringing at yourself from six months ago The "cringe" you feel when you look back at your old output, mindsets, beliefs, behaviors, and actions is a positive indicator. It means you've learned, changed, developed, and grown. If you feel that urge to cringe at where you were, consider it a nice reminder of your progress. *** Rule for Life: When in doubt, zoom out. On a regular basis, zoom out and use these hidden indicators of personal growth to reset on your journey. Change your perspective, change your life. If you found value in this, share it with your friends and follow along for more.