As business owners, we’re always thinking about ways to evolve our business. Have you ever considered investing in yourself and your personal growth as a means to do so? Personal growth is an ongoing practice that refers to the self-improvement of your skills, knowledge, personal qualities, life goals, and overall outlook on life. 

Personal growth is directly tied to your business growth. It’s tied to your ability to show up as your best self to support your clients but also tied to your sense of worthiness and confidence which is required to scale your practice.

Tuning in to your own personal growth allows you to build healthy daily habits and evolve as a practitioner. As an added bonus, oftentimes these learnings of yours can go on to benefit your client and their outcomes as well.

How does the pursuit of personal growth translate into your business?

• Enables you to identify your strengths
• Expands business opportunities and client prospects
• Increases productivity
• Heightens creativity and innovation
• Magnifies earning potential
• Develops confidence in your role
• Improves job satisfaction

With these benefits in mind, how can we tap into personal growth?

There are endless choices and opportunities for self-development. Ultimately, you have to find what speaks to you and what can serve you at your current stage in life.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

Self Reflection

Reflection is a powerful tool that gives you insight into what may or may not be working in your life. Taking this time to pause gives us a chance to get off the hamster wheel and check in with how we are truly feeling. This helps us to shift into alignment and course correct if we need to.

Here are a few questions to consider when reflecting on personal growth:

• Where am I spending my energy that feels draining?
• Where in my life am I doing things that feel like 'shoulds'? Can I do less of those things?
  (This could mean shifting into a new offering in your business, transitioning your niche, saying no to social commitments that don’t light you up, or maybe letting go of a relationship that no longer serves you.)
• Where in my life do I feel a 'hell yes!' in my gut? Take inventory of each area of your life and notice how it feels in your body. What does your intuition say?
  (Check out our blog Celebrating Wins to Help Grow Your Business for more on this topic.)

Whether you choose to use these reflective questions as prompts for journaling, to just pause and reflect or perhaps meditate on, these questions will provide clarity and deepen your self-awareness.

Connect with Expanders

Expanders are people who inspire us and open our minds to what might be possible for us. Perhaps they are doing something that you want to do, or have something you desire (maybe that’s a career path, a certain type of lifestyle, family dynamic, etc), or perhaps they have a similar background to you, have gone through similar challenges and have come out of it successfully. All of the commonalities and aspirational qualities 'expand' our ability to believe in ourselves and our capabilities. We see through 'expanders' all that is possible, inspiring us to manifest our own aspirations into reality. We are 'seeing to believe' which is a powerful exercise for our brain, enforcing that all of those things are possible for us too.

• How can you find expanders? Finding the right expanders is about finding someone whose personality, message, and lifestyle you connect with or can take inspiration from. There are a number of places to find expanders:
  • Podcasts
  • Books
  • Blogs
  • Social media and online communities

Invest in Yourself

There are many instances in which your health (physical, emotional, and spiritual) may benefit from courses, workshops, continued education, or the like. These types of opportunities are often led by an expert, who can guide your learning and keep you motivated with a preset curriculum. This style of personal growth venture often requires both a time and financial commitment, which can help keep you accountable and motivated to see through your investment.

1. Find new ways to move: Investing in fitness and incorporating movement is beneficial both physically and mentally. Whether you choose to work with a trainer, sign up for a new studio, invest in a piece of equipment for your home, or perhaps take a training certification, there are many options to consider.
2. Additional training for your designation: Find ways to uplevel your knowledge and expertise, whether it’s general business training or additional training to be able to best support your clients. This will increase your confidence and skill set to be an expert in your field.
3. Gain a new skill: Masterclass, Lynda or Skillshare are great platforms for acquiring new knowledge to build your confidence and abilities. They offer a wide range of options to explore to expand your skillset.

Whether it be an investment of your time for reflection, educational pursuits, or implementing intentional changes in your day-to-day practice, investing in your personal growth is an ongoing commitment that will pay dividends to your business. The benefits you experience will expand into every aspect of your life and business, including better client outcomes and increased ability to scale your practice.

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