There’s this saying in business:

“If you aren’t growing, you’re dying.”

It’s something I’ve always been conscious about but have also learned relates to so much more than just business.

It is an essential element of achieving pretty much anything we aspire to.

We are taught to go to school Monday through Friday for our entire childhood and teen years.  Once we’ve chosen our career we go to school some more.  A few more months or years of the learning process. We are essentially, year after year, forced to grow.

We are challenged mentally, emotionally and even physically (late nights studying, early mornings at a part time job to pay off the full time education).

And then it stops. No more school. We are finally ready to adult!

We start working in our career with the illusion that we are ready for everything.

As a Hairstylist or a Salon Owner you very quickly come to the conclusion that there is always something new to learn!

Except the learning process is way different now. You’re adulting. You’re responsible for your commitment, for holding yourself accountable.  There is no Teacher to hold your hand and force you to implement for 6 hours a day until you get it.  Your advancement, or lack there of, is entirely under your control.

At first, this new way of learning is so exhilarating that you can’t wait to start doing things on your own! But sometimes the reality of it works out a bit different.

You know what you have to learn.  You know how to do it, you’ve seen it done, and lots of others around you have accomplished it, so it should be easy for you, right?

And yet, no matter how hard you try, you are unable to make progress.  You try and try and still no progress. Frustration is rampant, lack of confidence is finding its way into your mindset and that ‘new’ thing, what once seemed so easy, feels close to impossible and still out of reach.

I’ve definitely experienced this myself. I’ve also seen it happen to Stylists at countless stages in the learning process and throughout their careers.

We all get caught up on the skill itself, not paying attention to what we are thinking or saying to ourselves about our progress.  We fail to recognize things that have become habits, even ones that may be working against our efforts.

Growing is about more than the skills.

People stop growing, or fail to progress because the pain of not having ‘X’ (insert whatever you really want here) just isn’t great enough.  It’s not my intent to offend – its just the honest truth. I’ve personally experienced it many times.

When you desperately want something, how willing are you to make the changes to get it?

Willing enough to get completely out of your comfort zone and change your habits? Willing enough to grow your mindset by working through some incredibly tough limiting beliefs?  Willing enough to ask for help?

Just like in business, if you aren’t growing by working on yourself, your habits, your mindset and your beliefs, there is no progression.

In my very small corner of the world I’ve actually never seen someone acheive what they so desperately wanted, without having to do the inner work first. Yet, as soon as that inner work happens, things magically change.

Great leaders and visionaries, the people we look up to that can seem to do no wrong.  Those that come by their skills naturally and climb both professional and social ladders with ease?

These people work twice as hard on their mindset and habits as they do on the skills in their career.

They are badasses at personal growth.They ask for help and find new ways to push out of their comfort zones. They are brave enough to recognize when they are holding themselves back and are open to change.

The flip side of this, are the people who are stuck, coming up against the same obstacle time and time again, aren’t aware of the necessity to invest in their personal growth.

Their awareness is that life is hard and no matter how much they try, they just aren’t making the progress they desire.

And here is the moral of the story….

We don’t know, what we don’t know.

But it’s our responsibility to find out.

Sometimes people choose not to grow personally.  They choose to bypass personal growth and pick up the same cycle in a new place, with new people yet expecting a different end result. It becomes an everlasting pursuit to find where it will get easier.

Stop searching. The answer is always inside.

You have the ability to do whatever you dream of. You have the ability to ask for help, implement that help and continue the growth process one step at a time.  Be honest with yourself about the people, tools and support you need to grow as your best self.

Getting started is sometimes the hardest part but we’re here to help! Grab a FREE 30 minute Consultation Call and let’s chat about your goals and where you could use some support! If you find it helpful and are interested in getting more help, have a look at our Mentoring Packages and how they could continue to support you through your growth.

Remember – every step of business/career growth requires an equal step of personal growth.

The secret is simply accepting the challenge an asking for help.

“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey

Thanks for listening,

Carrie

xo