6th Mindful Monday Word-Growth
Original art by Joni
Growth. It has a lot of different meanings. When I first think of growth, I think of my garden, the sunflowers and vegetables that I plant which take a lot of work in order to grow. There is preparing the space for a garden, the planting, the weeding, the watering and then the sunshine from nature. I can the tomatoes, we enjoy the veggies all summer long. There is nothing quite like a fresh tomato and basil sandwich! Growth can be found in families when there is a birth a marriage or adoption. Growth can be found in communities and in business. The growth I’d like to focus on this Mindful Monday is personal growth. One might not think of this, you might think about growing your business or your organization, however, I am now focused on my personal growth because that will only add value to my organization, to my relationships and my family. It’s a process like planting a garden. It takes time, it takes resources and it takes intention to want to grow.
A few years ago when I took my first adventure with a dear friend Tina, she opened my mind up to new ideas, new thoughts, new ways I could improve upon myself. She emphasized that she loved me just as I am, and I learned, there are ways to improve who you are. One is by surrounding yourself with like minded people. And well, this adventure took me to an event called Turning Point. Tina would say to me, “I can’t wait for you to meet my tribe, you’re one of them.” Here I met beautiful, sincere and supporting people in a welcoming community who are there to help others become the best they can be. They are the most encouraging people I’ve ever met, to this day!
I’ll tell you what, when I stop and look back at this adventure, I’m pretty impressed with myself! It takes stepping out of ones comfort zone to grow. This three day event was led by Paul Martinelli, a number one coach and mentor. they say it matters who you learn from, and, now I get it! First, I’d never even thought of a coach or mentor in my life, I thought I am who I am and you get what you get. Small minded I was! The first day at Turning Point was filled with empowering and engaging workshops where you dig deep and learn about yourself. This was fascinating. The second day was a physical obstacle course where I actually climbed a total of 65 stories to zip line! Climbing up each level with my team of peers I thought nothing of looking down, until I reached the top! I thought to myself, “what are you nutz"!” My adventure buddy Gary kept saying to me, “come on Joni, you got this, you can do it!” encouraging me to do it, to let go and enjoy the ride! Took me some coaxing, but I did it, I did each level and completed the obstacle course! Afterwards we had a debriefing if you will to talk about the activity. Gary leans over to tell me that he is very proud of me, and then apologized, Apologized, for what?” He says to me that here he was encouraging me to keep going, to climb the ladder, to reach the next level, to let go of the rope, etc. and when it came time for him to do the same, all he could think of was, “I’m so sorry, Joni, that was some scary stuff, but, we did it!” This was truly stepping out of my comfort zone, but, what a ride! Day three continued with workshops about growth within yourself. For some reason, here you are in a room full of strangers, and yet you trusted them, you trusted their words of encouragement and you trusted them in the stories you shared to not judge you, to encourage you and support you. And you know what, I did the same. It was incredible!
This is where my growth journey began. So, I ask you this. What areas in your life do you want to grow in? First, you have to be willing to grow, there is a yearning inside you that tugs at your heart, wanting to be a better person to learn new things or go on adventures. Wanting to be better at a relationship. Wanting to be stronger, more courageous, more intentional, to step out of your comfort zone and to challenge yourself. I know, it’s not going to be easy, but, it will be worth it. I have not looked back since this adventure and I am always looking ahead to how I can improve myself, not just for my family, my organization and my community, but, for myself. I never knew so much about me, and there is so much more to learn.
I encourage you to stop and think about the areas of your life that you would like to grow. I thought about this and I like to do an art project for each Mindful Monday word and I came up with a flower. My first thought of growth is a flower. Then, I had to think…..what are each petals on the flower going to represent in me, where do I want to improve myself, what area in my life do I want to grow? As with all the Mindful Monday words, Jennifer designs a template for you to print out and use. We hope you encourage yourself to use them and even your family or classroom of students. Having a positive mindset is powerful. Teaching a child to have a positive mindset is an achievement and a life skill that you can help them with. Use these templates as Journal covers and visual reminders to be mindful. Which of the nine Characters of Character would best model growth? Do’er Duck! This character emphasizes perseverance and to never give up, and let me just tell you, it is a wonderful feeling of growth, accomplishment and pure joy when you find yourself at the other end of a task, adventure or even a goal knowing that you did your best and you made it to the end!
Graphic by Jen Downey
“"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou