Becoming Better

As John C. Maxwell says, "Goals helped me to do better. But growth helped me to become better."

It takes more than ambition to reach success. We have to grow beyond what we thought possible.

In the chapter on personal growth in his book called "Leadershift", John C. Maxwell talks about the importance of embracing change, believing in yourself, developing relationships with other people, and being humble. Then he introduces something new: a concept he calls layered learning.

Why Experience Matters

We are generally exposed to the full set of principles we need to achieve success before we reach thirty. Some of us may even learn these principles sooner. But no one would argue that we stop growing at thirty. Why? The simple answer is experience and this is where layered learning comes in.

Being told something is not the same as experiencing it for yourself. Also, the key experiences in our life are worth repeating many times. With each experience, another layer is added.

Know Yourself… Grow Yourself

Recently, the UpCloseTeam led a group of seasoned businesswomen through our Know Yourself… Grow Yourself coaching series. Bringing together many years of experience working at a senior level in larger corporations and working for themselves as entrepreneurs, these women are proven experts in lifelong growth.

With the layering of learning, comes the wisdom to recognize the value of both moments of success and moments of great challenge.

All of the women agreed on a few basic ideas. They wanted to be intentional about their growth. They needed to build time for reflection into their busy lives. Most of all, they needed to put real effort into knowing themselves and staying curious about everything.

Are You Learning from Experience?

Real growth comes from small improvements over time. To do that, we often need to revisit things we thought we'd already learned. It is only by keeping a fresh and curious mind that we remain open to all that experience can teach us.

As Albert Einstein said, "Learning is experience. Everything else is just information."

The Hidden Value of Layered Learning

Staying fully open to what life has to teach us gives us a bigger picture. With each reappearance of a similar lesson, we layer on meaning. Over time, we come to understand more and more about how to build strong relationships and achieve successes that really matter.

There is always more room to grow.

4 Ways to Make the Most of Your Experiences

Experiencing life is not optional, but learning from it is. That's why it's so important to nurture a good attitude.

Here are four simple ways that you can make the most of the experiences that come your way:

1.  The only way to find out if something works is to give it a try. Our life is an experiment. When we dare to do things differently, we broaden our understanding.
2. Stay curious about everything. The only bad question is the one we didn't ask. It takes humility to approach familiar tasks with an open mind. But when we do, we layer on new meaning.
3. Welcome feedback. The people around us witness our experiences. If we ask for their input, they can help us see things we might not have noticed. Plus, in talking about experiences, we can learn from theirs too.
4. Take time for reflection. None of these strategies work if we don't take time to think. Make it a regular part of your life to take quiet time to process what you have experienced. Otherwise, you will only be reacting and you will miss an opportunity to make the most of your life.

Your Friends,
The UpCloseTeam