Everyday is a New Day to Grow

"Why is world history and evolution not stories of progress but rather this endless and futile addition of zeroes. No greater values have developed. Hell, the Greeks 3,000 years ago were just as advanced as we are. So what are these barriers that keep people from reaching anywhere near their real potential? The answer to that can be found in another question, and that's this: Which is the most universal human characteristic - fear or laziness?" - Waking Life

Everyday that we are alive and we are not personally or spiritually growing is a day that is wasted. We should strive to reach higher levels of growth in our lives every second of existence. When we are continuously growing our lives are filled with much more meaning and purpose. Personal and spiritual growth is not something that just happens overnight though. It takes a lot of time and dedication and it is a never ending journey. So how do we live a life where we are growing and evolving everyday? How do we make sure that we are on the path of growth and not the path of death?

The first step is to realize what holds us back from growing and removing it from our lives. Once we remove the things that are inhibiting us from growing we can start to focus all of our energy on moving forward.

What Prevents Growth

Fear of Change

To grow is to constantly change. To be human is to continuously grow. If your desire is to remain what you are then that is ultimately what limits you. When you set out on a path of growth you will be experiencing a lot of change. Your beliefs will change, you outlook on the world will change, your views of other people will change and ultimately your entire reality as you know it will change. If you are afraid of change or resist change then you are inhibiting your personal and spiritual growth as an individual. You must accept change in order to accept growth.

I don't believe that change itself is what people are afraid of but fear of the unknown and whats to come. Not a fear that we will not succeed or that we are inadequate but rather a fear of realizing are true potential. Realizing that we have more power inside of us than we have ever imagined and we can do and accomplish anything that we want to. Some people are afraid of having that much power and responsibility so they resist change and growth so that they can remain in their comfort zone where they have this false illusion of safety.

Laziness

Laziness robs a person of a sense of accomplishment, a sense of self-worth, and self-development.  How are you going to learn anything or pick up a new skill or develop a talent if you're too lazy to get up and do something? Laziness leads to poor health, low self-esteem, lack of hope, and low self-confidence, among other things. If laziness is the determiner of your behavior, then you're missing out on much of what this beautiful world has to offer.

Ignorance

The saying that ignorance is bliss is the worst saying in the entire world. That's like someone saying they are content with living life in a prison because that is the only place they have ever been and experienced and so they don't know what they are missing.

You are not open to any new thoughts or anything that doesn't fit the reality that you are accustom to so you just reject it. If you want to personally and spiritually grow everyday then you must not be ignorant.

Self Righteousness

If you become self righteous you completely cut off your path of growth. This is one of the biggest things that inhibit people from growing and most of them don't even realize it. Thinking that your beliefs and views are higher than everyone else's and that you are better than everyone else. You think that there is nothing new to learn outside of your own beliefs.

Religion creates more self righteous people than anything else. They think that their religion is the right one and everyone else is wrong. They try to change people to believe what they believe and think that if you don't believe it then you are going to go to hell or going to be punished some how.

How to Grow

Keep a Journal

Keeping a journal is a great way to personally and spiritually grow. When we keep a journal we are using the greatest tool for self reflection and self discovery. This allows you to get a good perspective and realize where you are at on your path of growth. Once you realize where you are at then you will know where you need to go and exactly what you need to work on. Keeping a journal will also show you things about yourself that you never knew and it will help you to discover who and what you truly are.

Besides just personal and spiritual growth there is a lot more benefits to keeping a journal. A journal will keep a record of all your experiences and memories that you will most likely forget later on in life. A journal is also a great to vent and let out thoughts and emotions that you have been holding onto inside. If you start keeping a journal now then you will be very happy that you did in say 2 years or 5 years or even 20 years. When you get older and look back reading what you wrote down you will also realize just how much you have grown since that time and this will help you to stay motivated and remain on the path of growth.

Set Goals

Setting goals and sticking to them is essential in personal and spiritual growth. If you don't set goals and accomplish them then you are like a drifter just floating by with no direction and no purpose. Setting goals will give you something to strive for and work towards.

Goals will allow you to concentrate your time and energy into more resourceful and efficient uses. They provide you with motivation and desire and organize all of your priorities. When you set goals and accomplish them your personal and spiritual growth will excel more than you can imagine.

Help Others Grow

When you reach higher levels of growth it becomes your responsibility to help pull other people up to higher levels. Not only does this benefit all of humanity, it benefits yourself more than you can imagine. Set examples and be a role model for the world.

Self Awareness

When you are more self aware in life you will learn much more and grow much faster. Stop living life like a zombie that just goes through life day by day that doesn't even have to think and start living like a conscious human being. We can learn from everything around us if we just stop and listen for it.

Take Time Each Day For Yourself

You should take at the very least 30 minutes out of your day for yourself. Forget what tasks you have to work on or what needs to get done. Forget all of your problems and just take some time to enjoy the moment. You should turn off your television and unplug or turn off your phone so that you don't have anything distracting you. This is a great time to just relax or meditate and enjoy the moment.

Learn From Every Experience

Every experience that you go through in life provides us with something to learn from and allows us to grow. Whether it is good or bad, big or small, life changing or something we go through everyday we can still learn from it. Now of course some things that we go through can provide us with much more life lesson, but if we pay attention and take every experience as something that is here to teach us then we can learn from it.

Learn From Every person

Every single person can also provide us with something to learn. Look at every person that you know and every person that you meet and listen to them and try to see things from another perspective.

You would be surprised just how much you will evolve and grow by implementing these things into your daily life. If you are ready to get off the path of death and switch to a path of continuous growth then the time is today, right now.