Dan Sullivan, in his insightful booklet, How the Best Get Better (© The Strategic Coach, Inc.), makes the following observation: “All stages of individual growth come from having goals—desiring something new, better and different. At first, goals liberate and motivate us; once achieved, they hobble and hinder us. Working to achieve a set of goals motivates us to develop specific relationships, structures, and personal habits. Once the goals are achieved, these same relationships, structures, and habits—now firmly entrenched—become The Ceiling of Complexity that prevents the next stage of growth. People become the prisoners of their own success, sometimes for the rest of their lives (p.9). He goes on to say that only by establishing new goals are we then forced “to develop new relationships, structures, and habits.”
Assuming that Mr. Sullivan is correct, the question I must answer is, am I more about maintaining what I’ve already accomplished, or am I more about moving forward and upward in personal growth? The more I strive to consolidate gains and fortify already accomplished goals the less likely I will be to adapt sufficiently to produce positive change and greater success.
Change resisters want to hold fast to the norms of earlier success. They do so at great peril. Whenever one stops looking for ways to break away from the “stuff, details, complications, conflicts, and contradictions that come from doing things a certain way for a long time,” one stops growing. . When I stop growing, I start dying. It’s that simple.
I am challenging myself daily to do something new and different than I did yesterday.
