How Growth Begins: Cultivating Self-Awareness for Personal Transformation
Reflections from the Garden
One of the gifts I bought for my wife, Susan, for her birthday this year was a raised planter that we could put on our deck when we move to the Jersey Shore in June. I bought the planter instead of building one because if it can’t be put together with duct tape, I am out of luck.
We don’t have much dirt around our house down there; it is mostly sand and rock, which are not the ideal conditions for growing herbs or vegetables.
The Essentials for Growth
I have had some successful gardens in the past. I know there are a few things that give you a better chance at growing a healthy, productive garden. These things include:
The right amount of sun
The right amount of water (not too much, not too little)
Proper drainage of water
The proper soil and right mixture of organic material
Food and nutrition for the plants
Removal of rocks and stones
Removal of weeds and maintaining that throughout the growing season
Temperatures not in the extremes (too hot or too cold)
These are just the basics for preparing the environment to be able to have seeds planted and begin the growth process.
Introducing the Growth Matrix
In the same way, personal growth and development needs a supportive environment or a sustainable matrix. That is why I have developed my own Growth Matrix. I believe if you get these four things down, you will be able to accomplish your goals and lead that productive life you envision.
The Growth Matrix includes:
Increased Self-Awareness
Alignment of Values
The Gift of Space
Owning Decisions
I will cover each of these separately over the next few newsletters. Below is the first of the four essential factors in the Beacon Training and Life Coaching Matrix:
Self-Awareness: The Foundation of Inner Growth
Self-Awareness is an understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, feelings, thoughts and values — as well as how these affect the people around you.
It is the ability to tell the truth to yourself about yourself and understand the impact your attitude, words and behaviors have on others. You become aware of yourself (spirit, soul and body) and how you function in the world around you. This includes your body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and other non-verbal types of communication.
The Moment That Changed Everything
My first foray into this realm of thinking was when I was a 20-year-old student at Montclair State College in New Jersey and was assigned to read the book Why Am I Afraid To Tell You Who I Am by John Powell. It opened up to me an understanding of myself I never had before. But I never really grew in my self-awareness.
It wasn’t until twenty-five years later, when we were given the opportunity to go to a marriage weekend at New Life Fellowship in Queens, that things really began to change.
It started with participating in the exercise Empty the Emotional Jug (now known as Explore the Iceberg by Pete and Geri Scazzero). Telling Susan what I was mad about, sad about, scared (anxious) about and glad about unleashed an overflow of emotions that left me in tears.
"For the first time in my life, I started to become self-aware, and I have been on the journey ever since."
Reflection: Tending Your Own Soil
What do you think?
How does it make you feel?
Steven
