GROWTH ENVIRONMENT MASTERY
To create your own growth, you must master your environment first.
Key concept 3: You Are a Work in Progress
The third key concept to mastering your external growth environment is to accept that you are a work in progress and will be for life.
Why? Many young people believe that the education they receive in high school and college (if they can afford to attend) is all they’ll need in order to function as an adult in the workplace and in life. So their focus is on completing school and graduating, rather than building or rekindling their innate desire to learn, and developing the durable skills that they’ll need as adults.
There is much more to learn to function as a competent adult in the real world. This includes learning how to complete tasks such as filing taxes, renting or purchasing a home, budgeting for monthly expenses, establishing credit, and using debt financing intelligently.
In addition, there are essential qualities not specifically emphasized in school that are crucial for adult life. These include patience, effective communication, self-control, endurance, resilience, and the ability to overcome obstacles or issues that can arise in life. So you are a work in progress.
FACTS: BY THE NUMBERS
According to a survey by McGraw-Hill Education, only 40% of college seniors feel prepared to pursue a career after they receive their degree. -collegesofdistinction.com
High schoolers believe that their educational experience is getting them ready for college. But they’re less certain that their coursework is preparing them for the world of work. -www.edweek.org
That’s one of the big takeaways from surveys published recently by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropy based in Kansas City, Mo. The survey found that 81 percent of students felt that high school got them “very” or “somewhat” ready for college, compared with just 52 percent who felt it prepared them for the workforce. -www.edweek.org
Based on research and statistics, many young people realize they’re not fully prepared for the real world after college.
So, instead of racing through school as if graduation is the finish line, mentally and emotionally accept that you are a work in progress. You will continue to learn all your life. Develop a thirst for learning. This will set you up for success for the rest of your life.
Highly successful people attribute their success to continual learning, development, and evolution. They never stop growing; it's a natural process for them.
Using our tree analogy, a seed doesn’t concern itself with the type of tree it will become. It doesn’t worry about its size or feel dissatisfied with its place in the growth cycle. It just grows—naturally and effortlessly.
Stay focused on where you are in your development cycle. Learn to love learning, and you will be set for life.
Focus on Now
In the cross-section of a tree, you’ll see growth rings. Rings are visible indicators of the growth of the tree each year.
Growth rings tell a story of each year's growth. Thicker rings suggest more growth, often due to favorable conditions like abundant rain. Thinner rings indicate less growth that year. Perhaps there was a draught or an especially harsh winter that restricted the tree’s growth.
Similarly, our personal growth may vary based on circumstances beyond our control. There may be years where we learn and grow more than other times. Either way, it's essential to recognize and track your growth. Unlike just getting good grades, true growth involves applying knowledge and developing skills, traits, or qualities that will benefit you for life.
How do you track your growth and improvement? Write your answer down in your journal.
Rings of Growth
Mistakes Simply Mean Room for Growth
Embracing your work-in-progress status allows you to learn from mistakes, adjusting your growth path. To navigate failures:
Be resilient. Bounce back, focusing on solutions, not the mistake. Identify ways to avoid repetition through better preparation or seeking help.
Compete with yourself. Avoid comparing speeds with others; embrace your unique strengths. Concentrate on personal improvement rather than external benchmarks.
Set small challenges. Gradual progress is key. Break down larger goals into achievable steps, fostering steady advancement.
Be persistent. Self-improvement demands patience and endurance. Acknowledge changes in yourself and stay persistent in your efforts.
Celebrate victories. Combat discouragement by appreciating every achievement, no matter how small. Recognize and celebrate positive steps toward becoming your best self.
Metacognitive Goal
Your metacognitive goal for today’s lesson is to create your growth rings from your past. Do you remember specific school years or experiences when you felt you made tremendous progress? Were there years, subjects, or teachers when you had less growth than normal?
The goal is to recognize your growth as a person without using grades as the only indicator of progress. For the years when you experienced greater growth, try to determine why. Did you enjoy the subjects or the teacher more? Were you getting more rest, or was your schedule less hectic? Identify the catalysts for those periods of greater growth. Write your findings down in your journal.
You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress at the same time.