“Compounding is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.” — Albert Einstein
Personal growth is something worth keeping track of—viewing your progression from where you started to where you are now plays a large part in feeling fulfilled in life. While you’ll encounter both ups and downs as you reflect, in the end, it comes down to accepting your experiences and how they’ve shaped who you are. But, since each individual has such different life experiences, there’s no singular way to gauge growth. So, how can we measure personal growth.
As a life coach, I have the knowledge and experience to help you recognize and keep track of your personal growth. If you’d like assistance, don’t hesitate to contact me today.
Recognizing Personal Growth
The first step in measuring personal growth is knowing how to recognize it. Begin by reflecting truthfully on your current state of being. Note how you’re feeling, where you are in life, and consider what specific area or areas you’d like to experience growth in.
After you’ve determined these factors, you then must understand that personal growth can be recognized in a few ways, depending on what your growth goals are. For instance, some people create concrete goals for themselves from the start, such as living a more active lifestyle, which has a clear indication of completion
However, sometimes, personal growth isn’t so concrete and is better indicated by the way we feel. For example, if you’d like to experience growth in terms of becoming a happier, more content individual, only you will know what this feels and looks like. When you begin your journey for personal growth, determine whether you’re gauging your growth based on concrete goals or an internal, emotional change of state.
Understanding what kind of growth you’re looking for and creating goals can often be difficult to do alone. With the help of a life coach, together, we can work to determine what you want and how to achieve it moving forward.
Methods of Measuring
Now that you know how to recognize growth and have determined what kind of growth you’re looking for, you need a way of measuring it. Consider the following when determining how to measure personal growth:
· Identify concrete patterns. If you’ve set concrete goals for yourself, concrete evidence and behaviors will likely follow that indicate growth. However, keep in mind that improving your behavior once does not always indicate change. Rather, you need to look for a pattern. While you can applaud yourself for taking one step towards growth, don’t remain content—it is only when you continue the behavioral pattern that you’ll experience a sense of personal growth.
· Journaling. Through journaling, you can document exactly how you feel and what you’ve done to achieve your goals. If you do this on a daily basis, over time, you will be able to view your progression from the first day of journaling all the way to the present day. You can also look for positive behavior patterns and all of the small successes that brought you to this point.
· Check in with yourself. This is especially useful if you’re looking to measure an internal change. Every few days, take time out of your day to reflect on your emotional state. Have you noticed a change in your well-being? What have you done to improve? How are you feeling at this very moment? These are all questions that will shed light on whether you’re on the right path to achieving personal growth.
· Check in with a trusted individual. If you’re still unsure of whether you’ve experienced growth, it’s not a bad idea to ask a trusted individual if they’ve noticed any changes. While you can turn to a friend or family member, if they see you often, it may be difficult for them to notice your small steps towards growth as well. Sometimes, a non-bias, third-party may be what you need to help you assess change.
