The Journey of Personal Growth - 8 Steps for Self Improvement

You can spend time seeking out all the growth tips you want, but if you don’t take the time to personalize the knowledge you find, you won’t feel like you’re winning. You won’t feel like you’re getting better and you won’t feel like it’s the right fit for you.

The idea of looking at personal growth as a journey is a more realistic way to approach growth, as opposed to viewing it as a tall mountain you have to climb. Calling it a journey also implies that there isn’t necessarily a finish line you need to feel anxious to hit. It’s a continual walk down a path that is changing over time and presenting different challenges for growth depending on the season of life you’re in. It’s kinda nice, right?

And you can easily be on multiple growth journeys simultaneously towards different outcomes for different things. One could be physical health, another could be emotional growth, another could be spiritual or even getting that dream career.

The basic points you want to hit when you’re on a journey toward personal growth is to become more observant of what’s going on in the world around you & how that affects you and how you live your life. You also want to be honest about everything that isn’t working, anything that needs to change & any help you might need. Finally, you need to commit to whatever changes and shifts you intend to make. Nothing changes if you don’t follow through with the actions associated with creating change. To be successful in your personal growth journey, you gotta focus on these things being prevalent and take the journey seriously.

Let’s get into the list of steps I want to share with you that I believe best represent the journey you go on to achieve personal growth:

1. Self-Reflect & Self-Awareness 
2. Goal Setting 
3. Move Forward With Action Toward Your Goals 
4. Don’t Cower From Challenges & Struggles 
5. Lean On Those That Support You 
6. Embrace Change & Be Flexible 
7. Take Care of Yourself On the Regular 
8. Keep Learning to Increase Growth 

I absolutely appreciate you SO MUCH for listening, downloading & sharing the show! It means the WORLD to me! Thank you!!

Transcript

0:03

This is the Real Positive World podcast and I am your host, Sabrina, and I am here chatting with you about your emotions, about your mental health struggles, how to take those first few steps towards vulnerability, becoming more honest with yourself, and increasing self-awareness. Because self-awareness is as important as learning communication skills. I'm telling you, it'll help you get through your life so much easier. And we do that two times a week here. So welcome in if you are new here. And if you are not new, welcome back friends. Today we're gonna talk about the journey of personal growth steps for self-improvement, where I'm gonna give you eight steps within the journey of personal growth and for once the steps are actually in a particular order. So if you're not new here, you know that often I'm just like, I'm just giving tips. And here they are. No, today they're in an order. So maybe that intrigues you, <laugh>. Uh, but before we get into that, just really quickly, can you please take a little peek route down in the show notes, check out all the things that are down there. You can check out the planner journal I created. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter. You can suggest a topic you can vent anonymously if you don't have someone in your life that you feel is emotionally available for you to vent to. There's all the things. Also, you can hit the link and go watch whatever current radios are available on the YouTube channel where you can actually watch a video version of the podcast. Doesn't that sound absolutely fan ous? So check all that out. Also, come see me on socials. All of that details is down there as well. I would love to be friends with you on Instagram, on TikTok, which is both at Sabrina Joy Perso, maybe on Twitter, real Sabrina Joy. Check all that out. It's all down in the show notes, it's all down there. So just take a peek guru. But let's go ahead and just get into what we wanna talk about today, which again is what I'm calling the journey of personal growth steps for self improvement. Let's do it. So I spent so many years, a lot <laugh>, a lot of years. I spent so many years like looking for the perfect formula to follow for me personally, to be the best person that I could be, to be more normal, quote unquote, however you wanna take that. I don't think that normal is, I feel like normal is very subjective these days, don't you agree? Um, but I was trying to be the best person I could be. I was trying to be more normal. I was trying to be mentally healthy, right? I was just trying to be like the cream of the crop. I wanted to be all the people that had that shell of happiness where they seemed to be keeping it all together. Yet I didn't know that all kinds of like swirling tornadoes of crap was happening, be below the surface regardless. I was still seeking <laugh>, like, and I'm talking about when I was a kid, when I was a. Teenager. Like I'm seeking these things out, right? And so this meant tons of time looking in books at both the libraries and bookstores for like the best self-help tips. Listen, my dad had the membership at Barnes and Noble, which meant that you got like free things on your birthday. You got like a discount every time you bought books. We were at Barnes and Noble in Borders books, I would say at least every other week, sometimes every week. It was crazy. And that's actually where I developed my love of reading is because my dad was a heavy reader and I was an only child to him. And so I spent a lot of time alone and I, you know, I read books and so anyway, I would, and I would go to the library. I love going to the library. I love being surrounded by books. Um, it was a great time. Also. Tons of time on the computer, you know, scanning the internet for everything I could find. And listen, let's put a big like, you know, poster up telling you that there were limitations back then. Okay? Okay. So we got the internet in my home, I think when I was like nine or 10. So that would've been like 95, 96. Okay, so <laugh>, let's, let's calm down<laugh>. And I understand that, yes, it took a more effort to look on the internet, even though there were like less things. It's because you actually, like, there was not, s e o was not the king of anything. It's like it was new. And so that's why I, I spent more time at the library in the bookstores than I did online. But as you know, things progressed and things became better. Yes, we found more things. Don't roll your eyes, I'm old. Okay. Um, and seeing, you know, looking online, seeing what was available for me to learn from. Um, and then also tapping into, let's not forget all the talk shows. Oh, I didn't even, like in my notes, I didn't even indicate that like yeah, talk shows and you know, those like radio shows. Definitely, definitely, definitely. Let's not forget about that, tapping into those, but then tapping into like regular talk shows, interviews and like our beloved sitcoms on TV that I would consume. I was trying to learn it from everywhere, right? I was like, how are these people on TV so happy? Oh wait, that's all fake, right? And then you see the talk shows. Oh, and so it's funny cause I would not have thought about this unless my, the, unless I had like my head therapist had not like brought it up, right? So today in therapy, which I have therapy every Thursday, and that's when I record the podcast he was talking about, I forget where we were talking about it. And it's not even worth like me thinking about, but he brought up Jerry Springer like twice like that show in the drum in the drama of it. And I used to watch that show, right? And I mean, I think a lot of us did if we were born in the eighties and you grew up with the TV and your parents didn't care that you were watching whatever trash tv, okay? And listen, I was like a little girl that grew up watching tales from the Crypt. Like my mom would be like, oh, it's time turn HBO on. We're watching Tales from the Crypt, but back to Jerry Springer. So, you know, like all of that is fake, right? And those people get paid to up the drama and like, what am I, what am I learning? What am I learning on Jerry Springer? Let's just be, let's just be clear, right? But I'm thinking like, okay, I'm gonna learn all of these things. I'm gonna watch Oprah, uh, Dr. Phil, I think he was like coming up then, you know, I'm trying to seek out everything I can from all the resources that I can find. And of course you're probably like, Sabrina, why didn't you ask people in your life? Listen, listen, it was difficult. It was a hard life, okay? It was not perfect. So there was not really people to ask people to trust. That was not my mo. So I had to seek every out, every other like facet that I could find. But, but as you were expect, none of it was going to be the golden ticket that I was looking for really Like at all. Like, it was just like here and there and nuggets of, you know, uh, being happy and putting a smile on and all of this like toxic positivity that I was just like, Ugh, no, we don't need any of that. We don't want any of that. We don't. So really the golden ticket for me, and I feel like this would ex extend to a lot of people, was getting into therapy, which did not happen until I got into college. Which really sucks because if I got into it sooner, like life would've been different. But hey, we can't change the past. So I got into therapy when I was in college and so that was the golden ticket really getting into therapy and figuring out what would work best for me based on what I was going through. So I eat personalized tips. You're probably like Sabrina, you literally could have said that like four minutes ago. I know, but you know me, I'm here for the drama <laugh>, I'm here for like the storytelling, the excitement. So personalized tips. It's been the most helpful so far. I am in therapy now and yes, you can read all of the books. And let's not forget guys, I did go to school for psychology. So like I understand like all of the basic things of counseling and therapies in different ways for you to cope and understand how to get through things. But it still has to be personalized. It still has to like be like, mm mm mm How could it fit So good so well to you for reals. So, and I just wanna make sure that you know that before I even get close to sharing the tips and the cycle of what I believe would be the best for personal growth, I just need you to know that it all comes down to personalization. It really does. You can spend time seeking out all the growth tips you want. Totally fine. Especially now with the internet. It is just like a rabbit hole, a among rabbit holes among sinkhole among, you'll get lost forever if you just continue to dig and dig and dig and dig. And it's not all gonna be, you know, beneficial and helpful of course, but you know, you can keep looking. Uh, but if you don't take the time to personalize the that you find, you won't feel like you're winning, you won't feel like you're getting better and you won't feel like it's the right fit for you, you won't. Have you ever gotten like a piece of advice or knowledge or even this happened to me yesterday where you'll just be on social or you'll be online somewhere and like, maybe you'll see a quote on Pinterest? Who knows? But I was on socials and I happen to come across someone that I follow, that I respect that's like a businesswoman. And she was talking about how it's really important for us to let go of the opinions and the thoughts of others so that we can pursue our true joys and really lean into the things that matter to us and Again, despite what anyone says or any sort of backlash or commentary or opinions that we may receive, just go after it. Just go after it, right? And that was actually the second time that I felt like I'd gotten some sort of messaging and imagery that related to that. And I made a comment on that post indicating that because it was a big deal. I was like, oh wow, that really hit home. That was a right fit. It felt good in my heart, in my mind, in my spirit, in my soul. It really did, truly. And that's actually what I've really been contemplating soon. We're not gonna really talk about that today, but it was a big deal. It was a little right fit for me. And that's not to say that if I had gotten that same like post from that person like a week ago, that it, it could have not been the right fit for me then, right? Because the timing would not have been right. You see what I mean? So it's important for us to realize that like it has to be the right fit for us. And just because something was the right fit before doesn't mean it'll be the right fit now or even somewhere in the future. And I feel like I've shared that piece of knowledge with you guys before, cuz it's very important to remember often we will just, you know, lean into what has happened before what we've done in the past. And think that's just gonna continue to work over and over and over again. We will have to change, we'll have to change, we'll have to grow, we'll have to do different things. Let me not preach a sermon on that right now. Okay? So, um, it has to be the right fit for you. So I spend, you know, me personally, me, Sabrina, I spend a ton of time doing research and coming up with new episodes at the podcast that I believe will be helpful to others in strengthening their mindset and knowing how to better manage their emotions, right? If you're not new here, you know that all of that to be true, I am passionate about, I've been doing it on our fourth season now. It is what I was meant to do. You know, that's, I truly believe that all of my heart and soul, everything, everything, um, I go through all of that work, right? It's, you're like, Sabrina, tune your own horror, okay? Yeah. That's how you build more self-esteem, self-confidence, you know, really, you know, pad your self-worth a little bit. But although I'm worthy without having done this anyway, so, you know, I go through all that work to do that, but it doesn't always mean, which is why I always have the disclaimer before I actually get into the actually nitty gritty tips and advice towards the middle of the episode. It doesn't mean it's always gonna be a perfect fit and I know that and I wanna acknowledge that to you. And I don't know that everyone else is acknowledging that when they're giving you their mental health mindset wellness advice. And I think that's another reason why I continuously do it. Because I want it to like be ingrained in your mind. Like I'm telling you honestly, like as vulnerable and transparent as I can, this might not work for you and it doesn't mean that it won't work for you, work for you like a week, a month, a year from now. And just because something I told you to do worked last year doesn't mean I'll continue to work because seasons of life we just change and we grow and we shift and all the things happen. Um, we're just continuously changing forms like, you know, like a toddler or like a five year old playing with like a ball of play-doh or something. It's always changing and it's a really important point that I need to tell you that cuz that can, that I feel like this applies to so many things in our life where, uh, a really weird example would be like we're, I remember us telling our daughter how um, as she grows up she will develop different tastes since we're so long. She did not like pizza. It was like a lot of thing. It actually made us really sad cuz my husband and I love pizza, we love zah, it's so good. And then one day, I'm not kidding, she came home and she was like, oh my gosh, I had pizza for lunch today. And I'm like, what are you talking about? You don't like pizza? And she was like, oh no, I like it now. And it's because her taste buds changed and I guess someone says that they change like every seven years or something like that. And so, uh, for the longest time when I was growing up, I remember having to sit at the date or table for hours because I wouldn't eat my peas. I didn't like 'em. But now as an adult, I love them. I will eat peas all day long. They're absolutely delicious, right? And so just because you didn't like something then doesn't mean you won't like something now. And just because something worked then doesn't mean it'll work now and vice versa. It's very important for us to download that concept and that fact. How long have I been talking about this? Did it hit home for you? Did the point hit home for you so much so that you can go and like preach your own podcast episode and sermon on like how important it is to realize it. Just because something worked then doesn't mean it'll work now. And just because something didn't work then doesn't mean that it won't work. Now just absorb that, okay? So it doesn't always mean that everything I'm gonna share with you is gonna be a perfect fit. You have to do your own finessing to make it your own beneficial mental health tip. So it's not that like what I would be sharing or what anyone would be sharing, um, in any capacity online. We're in a book, you know, like, are are we still going to bookstores? I am <laugh>, uh, are we still ordering books off of Amazon? I am. Um, so it's important for us to, sorry, I just got spooked. I'm sure someone's like, oh my gosh, what just happened? And I like stopped talking for a second cuz <laugh> something just freaked me out Anyway. Um, so it's important for us to realize that like, yeah, we'll get all the information, it'll come from all of the places, but we need to make sure that we're doing our due diligence to, to finesse it in a way that's gonna be beneficial to us. Because we could definitely learn some principles that are very helpful. Like even what I share you today, you're like, it's very like basic and helpful in your understanding, but you will still have to take a little bit of time to finesse these things to benefit you in the best way that'll fit with your alive right now. Does that make sense? I hope it does. So, um, just know that anytime you listen to this podcast, consume any other content that I create online or anything that anyone creates to help you make sure you know, it might not always work for you. And that's perfectly acceptable. 110% of someone says otherwise they're lying. I I I'll die on that hill, okay? They're lying <laugh>. And if you think it will, you think that whatever you are consuming will help you, it still needs to be crafted into however it will benefit you best. So sometimes it's a teen bit of effort and other times it could be like a lot of effort or just depends. Okay? So let's kinda like shift into, you know, the idea of like, you know, what is like having a journey of personal growth all about. So the idea of looking at personal growth as a journey. You see how that was like a hard transition. I knew that I kept talking about it or just talk about it forever guys. And I know that's not beneficial to you. So the idea of looking at personal growth as a journey is more like realistic. It's a more realistic like way to approach growth as opposed to viewing it as this like really tall mountain that you have to climb, right? So as it being like, oh yeah, you have this personal growth project. I don't know, that sounds really boring too. Um, journey sounds more exciting and like you're like oh you're going somewhere, you're places which you are in your personal growth. However, it's important for us to realize that like it's just, it's a more realistic way to think about it. And you know, calling it a journey also implies that like there isn't necessarily a finish line that you need to feel anxiety about hitting, right? Um, it's a continual walk down a path. It's like a lifetime adventure. I know all of these words sound very cheesy for me to say, but they're true. It's just like how it is. It's so, um, you walk down this path that is changing over time and presenting like different challenges for growth depending upon the season of life you're in. So that's kind of nice, right? It's just like continually keep going. You don't have to worry about being like, oh my gosh, I'm last to the finish line. But that's not true because there is no finish line. It just continues to evolve and change and you know, there'll be like curves and straightaways and hills and uh, loops and all the things, all the things in this journey and you can easily be on multiple, multiple growth journeys simultaneously towards like different outcomes for different things, just so you know. So it's not just like you were just like on one path, one road, one focus. And I know this might be like overwhelming. You're like, no Sabrina, don't tell me that. There's more than one. But there are, cuz there's just like multiple things that we are often working on on the regular. So like one could be like our physical health, like if we're working out nutrition, like, I don't know, walking, healing from some sort of like surgery accident, whatever, you know, we're taking care of our physical body. Another one could be like emotional growth where you're really like focusing on how to manage your emotions, which is the thing I talk about a lot. Uh, just general mental health. Uh, like really understanding what it means to feel a certain way and what triggers you have for those certain things, you know what I mean? Um, another one could be like spiritual, really working on your spiritual walk and what you believe and why you believe that and what your values are and really tapping into that or even getting the dream career where you're really focused on like, um, having that journey of personal growth of cake. Like how can I get that dream career? What do I need to be doing right now? What kind of plan do I need to write out? Like what are the steps of milestones, progress points that I need to indicate that I need to hit? So just so you know, there could be multiple growth journeys that you're on. It's not as overwhelming as I'm kind of making it seem. It's more of just like this thing, this thing, this thing. It'll make more sense once we get into the steps cuz I'll be able to point out like right where it is or this what would be, you know what I mean? And just to kind of wrap up like our general chit chat before we dive into the tips, um, the basic points you wanna hit when you're on a journey towards personal growth is to, it's like three things, three big focus points within the steps that you're taking. Um, so the first one is like to be more observant of what's going on around you in the world and how that affects you and how you live your life. Um, so you wanna understand like what's happening around life. Do you have the right people in your life? Do you, are you missing certain people that you would really like to have in your life? Uh, does it really not work out having certain relationships or having the job that you have? Or are you really kidding yourself on what you think you can't afford? And the time management skills, like you're really just like, you're being observant of everything that's happening around you. You're widening your perspective and understanding that there are multiple viewpoints in the world. I'm gonna move on cuz I will. Ooh, there's a, there's a, it's like a, it's offer ramp to a tangent right there. We're gonna move back past it. Um, so yeah, widening your perspective, understanding there's different viewpoints in the world and really just like knowing what's going on and how you are allowing those things to affect you. And the second one is you also wanna be honest about everything that isn't working. Um, anything that needs to change and the big one, any help that you might need. It's hard, it's hard for me to ask for help because like the more I get let down, the more I allow that to just like pile up and it creates this like fear of rejection more and more and more double triples all the time. It sucks. It's something that I need to work on and it can be so difficult, but it's important for us to be honest that we can't do certain things by ourselves and we need to call in the reinforcements. Uh, but also to be honest about like what isn't working in our life. Like that relationship is just not working out. That job is not working out. Um, me living here and doing this, that and the other, it's just not working out. Me spending my extra time doing this is definitely not working out. Me engaging in this negative coping mechanism, it's not working out. So being able to honestly identify those things, right? And finally you need to commit to whatever changes and shifts you intend to make. So nothing changes in your life if you don't follow through with the actions associated with creating the change. So you're like, I want to be able to run 30 minutes without stopping. Great, that's a great goal, but for that to happen you have to actually take action towards that, which means starting to run and being able to be like run for a minute, run for due, run for three, run for five, run for six, seven. You know, you're kind of just like continuously climbing up the ladder of how long you can run until you hit your goal and you were there. But that still takes action. You still have to like go and try running. It's not gonna just happen. It's not gonna be like, you know, just like osm. Like you're just all of a sudden gonna be like, okay, I thought about it enough now I can run. Absolutely not. It's just not gonna happen. So nothing changes if you don't follow through with the actions. And to be successful in your personal growth journey, you gotta focus on all of these things and having them to be prevalent while in your journey and take the journey seriously. Not super seriously like it's like life or death or anything. It's just like, you know, have some sincerity, be serious about it and be like, this is an important thing for me. So here we are. We have arrived at the list of steps. Like I said, I have eight steps for you that I believe are representative of the journey of personal growth. It's important for us to know these steps so that if we do want to embark on a personal growth journey, we have nowhere. No, no, we have no idea where to start. Here you go. Here's like a path again, you can finesse it and adjust it to fit you the best and be the most beneficial. Please do, please do that. It, it shouldn't be a suggestion. You should just do that and it can help you really just like get started. You know, implement like a template. It's like a template and then you make it your own. Uh, but before I get into the list of steps, as always, I want to let you know that everything I'm about to share and have already shared is based on my own knowledge and research and my experiences and the experiences of others that I am allowed to share. If you find that what I've shared so far and what I'm about to share does not align with you and you're like, no this is not the way to like achieve or be on the journey of personal growth, totally fine. Like I said, not everything works with everyone all the time. It's fine. I would encourage you to go seek out a therapist or a counselor though and kind of like have that one-on-one opportunity to figure out what would align best with you with figuring out like a good template for you to have to understand the journey of personal growth. If you don't wanna do that, then you could always go to our best friend Google and type in uh, let's see, what keywords would you use? What are the steps involved in the journey of personal growth? Those are your keywords. Type that in. Find all the videos, all the other podcasts, blogs, social posts, whatevers songs,<laugh> research articles, all the things. Quotes, all the things that you would need to do your own research. I encourage you to do that. Don't always just like believe everything everyone says be like, is that true? Because if you just like blindly believe everything that everyone says all the time, you're gonna find out that you've probably believed a few lies up in there and that's just like, you know how people are or they just didn't understand what they were talking about. Okay? So just understand that you gotta do your own research. Okay? So like I said, let's get into the list of steps I want to share with you that I believe best represent the journey you go on to achieve personal growth, personal growth, personal growth, personal growth. Okay? So the first one, like I said eight, we're gonna zoom, zoom, zoom. Number one is two <laugh>, you guys, I'm still wearing jeans. So uncomfortable, but I wanted to look cute. Um, the first one is self-reflect and self-awareness. Self-reflect and self-awareness. Those are best friends, they're together for number one. So you're gonna start. So again, like I said, this is an order of how I think it should be, how the journey will go. So you're gonna start with self-awareness and self-reflect. So take the time to better understand who you are and what you're all about, right? Get to know your thoughts, your feelings, your behaviors, your actions. Know those better and what leads you to react or respond the way that you do. You're really tapping into self-awareness. It's like the top thing ever. And next to communication, I think it's a tie guys, it's a tie, it's a tie, tie, tie. So we wanna make sure that we're working on that. So when we reflect, we're gonna think like, okay, you know, when I felt this way, this is how I was triggered, this is how I decided to respond or react. And you're really just like reflecting back on certain situations, experiences how those things drove you to feel like whatevers right. And self-awareness is really just understanding those things. Like why did I feel that way? What, what was the lead up? Can we, are there breadcrumbs? What, how can we follow it back? Let's understand like who we are, what we're all about. Maybe even reflect on our core values and our belief system. And we really need to know ourself because before we like try to embark on a personal growth journey, we need to know who we are and what we're all about. And like, you know, know that base where everything is going to be coming from. Be building from. You have to know, okay, so self-reflect and self-awareness. That is step number one. Step number two is goal setting. And so this is where you would see where you're like goals plural. You're gonna have multiple journeys of personal growth because you have different goals, kind of like the ones that I shared before where you have a goal to better your physical health. You have a goal to, to achieve. I was like, what word am I looking for? Achieve your dream job, right? You have a goal to get better at emotional management, like whatever the goal is. And so this step number two is where you would set your goals. So when you know who you are through self-reflection, self-awareness and what you're all about, you can start creating goals for yourself that will actually align with what you're passionate about, what you actually need to do. Cuz there's certain things that we just need to do as a person to get our life together. And what would be most beneficial and reasonable for you when you're creating goals? Please. I, I'm begging you make sure that your goals are reasonable. Reasonable, okay? Don't have any crazy high expectations. Who are you trying to impress? And I don't care if you have a list of people you need to impress, throw the list away or recycle it if it's paper or recyclable.<laugh> live to impress yourself. And I think that your expectations will come down a little bit cuz it won't need to be so sky high, you know? And they'll be reasonable things you can actually hit, even if you have to ask for help, it's still not like, hey, my goal is to be an astronaut and you're like 45 or something. Like it's just not gonna happen, right? It's just not gonna happen. You know why? Because you're too old. And I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just like that's the reality of like you're just too old to go like enter the space program and do all those things. You just are, I'm pretty sure you are. And recently I looked up the age to join the military. I think you have to be 35 or younger. So it's like if that was your goal and you're like 38, like it's just, it's just not reasonable. It's not a real goal. So when you know who you are, you can start setting goals. Figure out like how that goal connects to your passion and your purpose. What actually needs to get done. Like maybe you need to lose weight because you will be forced to go on a medication for your body. Physical health. If you don't, okay, critical for that. And then, um, you know what actually would be most beneficial and reasonable for you. Okay? Number step number three, step number three, move forward with the action towards your goals. Move forward with action towards your goals. I definitely used to be that person that was like a sitting duck. I would read all the knowledge and read all the books and understand everything like have the brain full of knowledge but never take action cuz that's the harder part. Learning things easy, taking action towards like using that knowledge. Harder times a million more difficult. But you know, you won't get anywhere with that action, right? You just won't. Um, after you create and plan out the goals, you gotta take action for anything to actually happen. You know, and this can mean like you need to step outside of your comfort zone or face your fears, uh, and take risks that you aren't used to participating in. But it's all in the name of growth, right? It's all worth it because you're like, okay, I need to, you know, get better at this thing. Excel at this thing. This thing needs to be like top priority. You have to take actions to get those goals. You're not gonna be able to run a marathon<affirmative> if you don't start learning to run at least 30 minutes minimum. You just won't. So you have to take action, you gotta take action. So move forward with action towards your goals and that will help. That will be like, that's the next step on that journey of like, okay, made the goals, taking the action, now we're gonna keep it moving. Step four, don't cower from challenges and struggles don't cower from challenges and struggles. So whether it's something like toughen your mind, like anxiety or disappointment, that's like a lot. It's heavy or it's external within like your relationships or your career, you need to not run from those problems and obstacles, okay? You need to not like cower. You need to not like be all scared and like find yourself in the fetal position unless you're just gonna be there for like a minute and then you're gonna get yourself out of it. But that already takes like a lot of understanding of who you are and self-awareness and like mental maturity. And if you're there, that's a fantastic, but maybe you're not so and that's okay cause a lot of us aren't. So it's important for us to be aware that we can't, we don't want to run away, we can't run away. We gotta be strong. Instead we need to stand tall. We need to tap into like whatever confidence that we got at that moment. Like whatever it is, just like pull it all together, right? And keep pushing forward, keep pushing forward. These experiences will help you become stronger. So cheesy, I know roll your eyes, it's okay. But it's true. You know, when we have to push back against all challenges and things, we do become stronger, we become wiser, we become more, um, what's the word? I don't know. We just gave more skills, okay? Because we've gone through another experience that taught us something new. We pushed through. It was really hard. We learned something and that is absolutely fantabulous. Okay? So don't cower from challenges and struggles. Step number five, lean on those that support you. Lean on those that support you. You gotta have a support system, at least one person. I would say minimum of three though, like in reality. And that's even coming from someone that doesn't have that right now I'm working on it kind of, sort of. I'd say 30% I'm working on it, we're getting there. It's necessary to have someone that you can lean on. So whether that's a friend or a counselor or a therapist or a partner, a family member, a mentor, whoever, whoever it is, you gotta have at least one person you can seek out. Again, I would really recommend three, but minimum one, like hard minimum one. Um, you gotta have that one person you can seek out when it feels like it's all too much to handle. It feels like you can't keep going. It feels like you wanna give up, feels like worse things gonna happen. So you gotta have that person you can lean on and be like, Hey, I'm having a hard time. Can I vent to you? Can I share with you what's going on? Hey, what's going on in your life? Tell me positive things so I can like not harp on what I'm dealing with, right? So lean on those supportive people because you're in the part of the journey where you've created goals, you've connected actions to those goals and, and you're also kind of like, you know, experiencing a little bit of fear and anxiety and stress from having to cower or like wanting to, like, you'll feel those things because you're dealing with challenges and, but you need to push yourself to not cower, not be afraid, not like totally shut down because of those things which leads you to really needing to have that support behind you because you're dealing with so much and it's a burden. So lean on those that support you. Step number six. Step number six, embrace change and be flexible. Embrace change and be flexible. So change is a good thing. Everyone says that <laugh>, no one believes it. Change is a good thing, but we often see it as like a bad thing because we focus more on what is going away, what is leaving, what are we having to let go of rather than what is coming in and how much better our life will be when these changes are made. And I think that if we just like change our perspective and shifted our mindset to thinking, okay, yeah it sucks, I can't do that anymore. However, think about how much better I'm gonna fill in this amount of time now that I'm no longer doing that. And let me evaluate what I get to do now. What I get to do now is more exciting and you enjoy it more and it means something. So consider that change is a good thing. We just have to shift the way that we see change and just really accept it as this awesome opportunity to level up every single freaking time and to experience new things. And so having a flexible mindset is also important, which is why these are like best friends here, uh, because it will help you adapt to the situation quicker. Um, and that's actually means like so much you do, you wanna be able to adapt to the situation quicker. Um, because it means that you can keep move moving forward in life and not get stuck where you are. So you're like, okay, um, I all of a sudden have to like start injecting things into my body now because of whatever's happening. And as opposed to being like, oh my gosh, feeling so sad about it, complaining about it, having a victim mindset about it and then not actually end up doing it or hating it every moment you just continue to double down on terrible thing and it makes you wanna do it less and less and less until you start skipping doing it. And then things just so worse, right? But if you're able to just adapt and keep moving, you're maybe ask some questions to better understand why this happened and what's going on and maybe you will grieve it a little bit that it's changing, but you'll still accept the fact that hey, this is just the way it is. I've been told that it's gonna be better. But even if you're told things are gonna be worse than they are right now, it's just like, okay, well there's still an opportunity for things to get better over time. So, you know, it just, when we decide to adapt, um, when we decide to have a flexible mindset, which allows us to just adapt to the situation, you know, we can keep moving forward. We won't get stuck cuz we're not too stubborn to consider, um, and agree to the change, right? We're putting them behind us not being childish like that. Uh, because of our rational fears. There's so many irrational fears that we allow to control our mindset and prevent us from doing so many things and it really sucks. But if we like really push to use our mindset and have it be as strong as we know that it is, we are more likely for it to, you know, stop us from doing things that we regret and shifting into new things and positive things and great experiences, you know? So having a flexible mindset is super important cuz it will help you adapt to those changes in situations that are gonna come whether you like it or not, especially at work. Oh my gosh, especially at work. It's rough. So embrace change, be flexible, be flexible with your mind, which also leads back to being more open with your perspective on life and understanding. People see it different ways and just because they see it a different way for you doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong. And even if it is wrong, you don't need to be the judge and Jerry of what they're doing, just move on. Okay? Step number seven, take care of yourself on the regular, take care of yourself on the regular. So it's like self-care, you know, self-compassion. Make sure that you are setting personal boundaries. That's also important too. And if you need to learn more about personal boundaries, I just did an episode on it a couple episodes back, so just go listen to that. That'll be super helpful for you on how to do that. But make sure you're setting personal boundaries and keeping an eye on your mental and emotional health. So it's not dipping, there aren't like maybe there's events or memories coming up, you know, anniversaries coming up that would cause you to, or lead you to like feel a certain way and act a certain way. You know, you wanna make sure that you are, uh, really on top of like, is your mental and mindset <laugh>? Is it your emotions and your mindset, uh, declining and you need to take care of that. You need to foster, uh, the ability to keep going. Um, also like making sure your physical body is healthy and show yourself some compassion. Show yourself some love. Show yourself some forgiveness and understanding when things don't turn out. You make mistakes, you fail and it sucks, but you'll, you'll be able to move on from an I promise you, I promise, pretty promise. Okay, step number seven, one's, take care of yourself on the regular. And step number eight, our last step that I wanna share with you today is keep learning to increase growth. Keep learning to increase growth. So after you get through a pocket of growth, like you, like focus on the run, you focus on getting better at managing your emotions, you focus on getting your dream career, you focus on being able to climb the top of a mountain, whatever, you know, you get through that pocket of growth. I want you to like, don't stop learning about yourself or anything else that can be beneficial to your success in the future. So let's say you do climb the mountain and you're like, well I don't need to learn anything else about mountains now or this mountain. Okay, maybe, but maybe you still like, kind of like peek in on that research sometimes. Maybe you see a book and then you read it and you realize that there's some things that you missed out on. You might wanna do that goal again with different incentives, different focuses, and like restart that again, right? So don't just stop yourself from learning anything. Once you complete that singular journey of personal growth cuz you actually achieve the job a different kind of personal growth plan for you, I want you to make sure you keep learning, you know, read books or watch videos or listen to podcasts, you know, um, doesn't have to be difficult. No pop quizzes unless you like those. Uh, but do what you can, you can to try and make new things mostly for like the exposure of those new things and challenging in the challenge of being something different than everything else that you have worked through. And how important that is to really just like, shake things up and be like, okay, how am I gonna deal with this? How am I gonna handle it? What am I gonna do? Let's figure it out, right? Keep learning, increase your growth. Maybe you'll learn something new and that'll like change something forever for the better. Or maybe you'll learn something that's kind of weird in that you adopted it and then someone else is like, what the heck you're doing? And you learned about it in a different way. That can happen too. Um, hey, I'm here to tell you the good and the bad and the ugly. All of itll, every part of it. So keep learning to increase growth. I, I push you to just keep doing it, keep understanding it, you'll better grasp on it and you will be so worth it. But that are, that is all eight of the steps that I had to share with you today on that represent the journey of personal growth. So I hope that was really helpful and I do encourage you to share it with someone that you think would benefit from listening to this episode. Um, but thank you so much for listening to the Real Positive Growth podcast again with me, Sabrina. Do not forget to check the show notes below so you can find me on socials and we can become friends Also to sign up for the newsletter, check out the journal, uh, check out all the YouTube videos that are currently up. We are getting closer and closer to almost being current, like really close like two weeks, two like 14 days, two weeks away if I'm able to just consistently upload two or three videos a day. We'll be there really quick guys, but, okay, well until next time, have a good one and I will see you guys next time. Bye friends.