10 Ways to Bring Growth into Your Life

10 WAYS TO BRING GROWTH INTO YOUR LIFEnnJust as gardeners look for ways to promote growth inntheir garden, so, too, do people look for ways to bringnmore growth into their lives. Repotting is our term for hownthose who have outgrown the pot or container of theirndaily lives, are transplanting themselves into a largerngrowth environment. What happens to a beautiful,nflowering plant that outgrows its container? If you don’tnrepot it, eventually it withers and dies. Our book,nRepotting: 10 Steps for Redesigning Your Life showsnyou how to rejuvenate your life by following ournstep-by-step process. No matter what your age, stage ofnlife, or circumstances, you can benefit from the repottingnprocess and philosophy. nnHere are 10 ways that to bring more growth into your life as spring approaches:nn1. Rethink Your Landscape. Adopting a new perspective is the first step tonsuccessful repotting. Just as some plants need a different environment if theynare to thrive, you need to start thinking in new ways, too. Ask yourself: What isnreally important to me? What trade-offs do I need to make to bring more lightnand meaning into my personal garden? What will bring color to mynlandscape? For example, if you are constantly traveling for work, but missingnimportant family activities and milestones, you could revisit career/familynpriorities, and after consulting with colleagues and supervisors, makenadjustments to your travel schedule.nn2. Realize That Planting Is a Process. Slow down and create time in yournschedule to research new avenues for personal growth. Don’t be afraid of emptynspaces. A friend of ours who cut back on her schedule immediately filled thenopen time slots with new activities. Remember to let “fallow beds” lie—don’t fillnup your free time until you know what you really want to do.nn3. Weed Your Garden. Take a disciplined approach to finding more time in yournday for activities that offer opportunities for growth. Make a list of the “must donactivities,” then eliminate non-essentials from your day or week. A woman whonran a successful event-planning firm cut back on the number of clients shenhandled in order to make time in her life for painting classes and choralnsinging—two long-lost passions.nn4. Let in More Light. Your true gifts may be languishing for lack of sun. In ordernto grow and change, you’ll need to open your mind to new possibilities, set goalsnthat challenge you, and take some risks. A lawyer we talked to was offered anpartnership in her firm. Instead of following the safe path she had pursued, shenopened up to explore a completely different lifestyle--that of becoming a pastrynchef. Ultimately she quit her job, giving up financial security in favor of a lessnconstraining life.nn5. Tend Your Garden Regularly. Whatever you choose to undertake—whethernit’s building a new career, volunteering, or pursuing a new hobby—do somethingnon a daily basis to make progress. Be fully committed, so that distractions won’tntake your energy away from the tasks necessary to achieve your goal. A womannwho wanted to use her spare time to do personal writing found herself distractednby TV programs--until she decided to unplug the set from Friday to Monday.nn6. Cultivate Your Dreams. To repot successfully, you need to let your mind runnfree to entertain new concepts, ideas and avenues. Unleash your creative sidenby visualizing a new future for yourself. A mother of four, who had spent 20nyears raising children, allowed herself to visualize a new identity. In the processnof helping an exchange student living in her home, she discovered a talent forncounseling troubled youth. She allowed her imagination to take her beyond herncurrent role of stay-at-home mother to that of a therapist for adolescents.nn7. Water Your Roots. Find the core values that motivate you. Make sure the lifenyou are living is in sync with your deepest values and priorities. If not, see whatnyou can do to realign it. Let’s say you feel the lack of spirituality in your life, butnaren’t sure how to find it. For two of our repotters, the answer to spiritualnfulfillment lay in serving non-profit community organizations. Two others,nhowever, took a religious path: one started a Bible study group, and the othernentered seminary and was later ordained.nn8. Don’t Forget Fertilizer. When you expand your knowledge, you expand yournoptions. For personal growth, ongoing learning is crucial. You can seeknself-enrichment in a variety of ways and venues, whether to pursue a hobby orngain new credentials for a career. The stimulation of learning fosters new growthnand change—and acquiring knowledge and skills can happen at any age. Anmiddle-aged stock market analyst decided to go back to school for an M.B.A. sonthat she could start an entrepreneurial venture with her grown daughter.nn9. Plant a Sample Bed. Until you try a plant in your own personal garden, younwon’t know for sure if the conditions are right for growth. If they’re not, you cannalways rip it out and start again. Embrace trial and error. A woman running hernown real estate appraisal company took training to see if she would like tonbecome a massage therapist. While she enjoyed the nurturing aspect of thisnprofession, she realized she couldn’t do it fulltime. She continues to run herncompany and sees massage clients on weekends.nn10. Get Input from Other Gardeners. Tap into your network—family members,nfriends and colleagues—who may be able to give you feedback, advice,ninformation and emotional support along your journey. As you benefit from thenadvice of others, you may also find that you’re helping someone else along thenway. Among the many blessings of repotting are the social relationships younbuild along the way. An accountant we met wanted to change fields. Shenconsulted her family, professional friends, and people who had known hernthroughout her life. This research reconnected her with long-lost friends,ndeepening current friendships and building new, rewarding relationships in hernnew field.n