GROWTH ENVIRONMENT MASTERY
To create your own growth, you must master your environment first.
Key concept 4: Stay Rooted
Seeds, plants, and trees require four things for continued growth and thrive: nutrients, water, sunlight, and CO2.
To access the nutrients and water they need to survive, plants and trees establish roots. But not all roots grow and develop in the same way.
In the analogy of our growth to the growth of plants, what do roots represent? What about nutrients? And how do they impact your external growth environment?
Nutrients: General information for growth.
For plants, elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium serve as essential components for growth, much like how general knowledge in school and our daily lives nourishes our intellectual growth and understanding.
Similar to plants that use roots to dig into the ground and pull out essential nutrients, our curiosity acts as roots, guiding us to explore and extract information that nourishes our intellectual growth and development.
So without curiosity, you might not be getting enough nutrients or general knowledge and experiences for you to grow as a person.
Tap roots: Initially providing stability and absorption, tap roots are a tree's first foundational roots. While most don't continue to grow deeper due to limited oxygen and nutrients in deep soils as an initial anchor.
Lateral roots: Growing outward just below the soil surface, lateral roots absorb water and nutrients, but provide very little stability for trees that grow to great heights,
Oblique roots: Diagonal in growth, outwards and downwards, oblique roots serve the same function as lateral roots, but provide more stability.
Sinker roots: Extending downward from lateral roots, sinker roots reach several feet in depth, tapping into deeper soil for additional water and nutrients, enhancing tree stability.
Curiosity: Building your root system.
Curiosity will be the root of all your learning. With plants, different types of roots serve different purposes.
Tap vs lateral roots: Who you are vs. what you know.
When someone says 'Get back to your roots,' they're encouraging you to reconnect with your true self. This involves exploring your family history, background, cultural roots, and personal values. Establishing a strong 'taproot,' or a firm understanding of yourself, is essential for being grounded and true to who you are. A taproot in our lesson also represents the development of traits, qualities, mindsets, and attitudes that will allow you to become a well-rounded and extremely competent person in the workplace and life.
Conversely, lateral roots, branching out in all directions without going too deep, are like school and other experiences that teach you a little about a lot of different subjects. While these roots expand your knowledge, they may not significantly impact or nourish your personal growth.
So some of the knowledge impacts what you know, and other knowledge impacts who you are, or will become. Both are important.
Digging deep and wide: Making connections.
Oblique and sinker roots enable a deeper exploration of a particular subject or area of interest. Often, when students are tasked with choosing a major or a specific field of study, they delve more deeply into a particular area.
Sinker roots, originating from a lateral root, extend directly downward, corresponding to when you have a deep passion or obsession with a specific subject or area of interest.
On the other hand, some individuals gradually accumulate knowledge about a specific subject, growing more interested as they learn, which causes them to dig even deeper. This kind of learning is comparable to oblique roots, which extend downward in a diagonal direction.
Can you think of an example of the above type of learning? What about someone interested in a technology career? As he or she learns more, they might become coders, digital artists, database programers or a UI designer,
Some people only establish lateral or surface roots. They learn a lot about several varying subjects. They may even dig deeper and establish sinker roots in one or two areas of study. However, they might not spend time digging deeper to determine who they are, what qualities, traits, and mindsets they have, and what they stand for. Trees that have shallow roots are often blown down during strong windstorms.
So don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you have a lot of knowledge, that’s all you’ll need to be successful.
On the other hand, trees that establish deep taproot, are firmly established and can weather most any storm. Likewise, when you know who you are, and you like and appreciate yourself, you will have the self-esteem and confidence to withstand any of life’s many storms.
Why it all matters.
Metacognitive Goal
Before the next lesson, take some time to become aware of the types of knowledge you've acquired up until now and consider how it influences both you and your future.
Firstly, recognize your general knowledge. What do you know about various subjects? Which subject is your favorite? What subject sparks your natural curiosity?
Next, identify knowledge that provides insights into yourself—your identity, culture, strengths, weaknesses, and everything that contributes to who you are.
Finally, consider which of those two types of information will help you deal with obstacles, challenges, and difficulties in the future. Both in work and life.
Record your observations in your journal.
“Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing.”
-Joanne Raptis