“Most people want more from life than what they’re getting” Michael Hyatt
Have you thought about your life: who you are, what you know, and who you are becoming? One of the most important things we can do is to grow our understanding of ourselves and our ability to lead ourselves. Have you ever thought about how you lead yourself?
It’s not easy. Sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves. Sometimes, perhaps without even realizing it, we let others lead us or try to live someone else’s life, but at the end of the day, there is only one you. Your experiences and your purpose is unique. You have your own life to lead.
Years ago, Stephen Covey encouraged leaders to begin with the end in mind. This is such a powerful mindset. Once you know where you want to go you can begin to steer yourself in that direction.
Of course, one of the challenges as you go along is that you get off course or start to wonder if you are going the right way. We have so many choices today. We live in an age overpopulated with experts. You can google almost any question and an answer will pop up. But, just because someone says something, doesn’t make it true. Now more than ever, we need discernment. In order to arrive where we want to go and keep going toward our desired outcome, we need to be very careful about how we go about things.
What if we could be more discerning?
What if we could become an expert on our own life?
An expert has special skills or knowledge in a particular thing. The best expert is still studying, still growing, still aware and open to admitting they do not know it all.
Rob Johnson determined: “Expertise is commitment coupled with creativity.” I like that. It takes time, commitment, and creativity to become an expert.
To gain expertise, you have to be curious. There is a creative energy that is necessary to gain new knowledge.
It’s interesting to consider how we can apply this to ourselves. What if we committed to know ourselves better and found the courage to creatively explore how we can become even more?
How could we became an expert on our own life?
Grow in self awareness.
You can collect data on yourself and name what is influencing you. The content you are consuming and the people you surround yourself with affect how you think and what you do. Craig Groeschel says, “What you put in determines what comes out.”
Make a list of everything you are consuming.
What are you reading? (books, newspapers, magazines, online articles, websites, social media posts…)
What are you listening to? (books, podcasts…)
What are you watching? (YouTube, videos, online streaming, tv…)
What is your news source?
Who and what you surround yourself with matters. Is what you are reading, listening to, watching, and consuming helping you?
2. Grow in self development
To grow we need to work on our strengths and our weaknesses. You don’t grow by doing the same thing you have always done. You grow by doing more of what you can do or by doing something different.*
What are you involved in and attempting right now? Are your learning any new skills? Do you have a personal or professional goal, project, and activity that is occupying your time? What are you doing today that helps you move toward who you want to be?
Here is the creative part. By trying something different, even if it’s seemingly not related to your job or personal obligations, you improve in other areas of your life. Watercolor painting, for example, could help you grow in your ability to read spreadsheets or manage your calendar as it opens up what it means to see details in a new way.
I have been trying to grow in my ability to use technology. When you first try something new it’s uncomfortable and it can be frustrating. But when you keep working at it, it fosters humility and reminds you that is it possible to become better at something. When you realize this with one thing, you start to embrace it with other things and you tend to be more compassionate with others, knowing the same is true for them.
What’s important to you?
What end do you have in mind for yourself?
A true expert is always growing and expanding their knowledge and applying it in new ways. Become an expert on yourself by collecting data on your inputs and creatively cultivating new outputs. Be curious and open to learning new things. Steer yourself onward, well.
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*Craig Groeschel talks about this principle.