Personal Growth Precedes Everything
Recently I’ve had a team dinner in celebration of a great milestone achieved for our department. The owners of the firm graced us with their presence and we manage to have some very meaningful conversations. One of the topics we touched on was how do we get the key people in the firm to realise that their thinking is flawed and could be improved/changed.
You might be thinking, “Hey, I thought this is personal finance blog, so why are you going all Tony Robbins on me.” Read on then.
Personal Development
Here’s a belief: Who we are… will affect what we do… and that trickles down to every little thing around us.
I never thought much about personal development prior to my network marketing days. Those who have participated in network marketing before will know that personal development is an important part of training. It is also one of the more important benefits of joining one, as I have shared in my previous post about my experiences in network marketing.
Although one might feel like it’s personal development on steroids, strip all the fluff away and it could be a very important personal growth journey.
Personal Being
As our education focuses a lot about cramming rather than understanding, this is also reflected in a lot of personal development buffs out there. They could recite word for word things that they have learnt or read, but when it comes to application we often see a contradiction. Why is this the case?
The simplest explanation that I can find is: whilst the external portrayal of the person is one thing, the internal being has not changed all that much. The being of a person shows up based on one’s belief – whether conscious or sub-conscious.
The growth of a person takes a whole new level when personal development is able to transform the being of the person.
So if you want to change a person…
You can’t.
There is a Chinese proverb that says, “ๆฑๅฑฑๆๆน๏ผๆฌๆง้พ็งป”. This saying means that it is easier for you to move a mountain than to change the nature of a person.
Let’s say you’re a right-hander all your life. All of a sudden, you meet someone who forces you to be left-hander. You must write with your left hand, you must hold your cutleries with your left hand, open door with your left hand. What would you feel?
I have led a team before with people who just couldn’t do the work properly. I have coached people before to start their investment journey but till today they haven’t. I have tried various methods, short of pointing a gun at the person to force the person to do it, and it just wouldn’t happen.
The reason? It’s just not in them to do it AND they are not ready to take the next step.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear
Some will never change.
Some will seek to grow.
However, it has to be their choice.
Remember those credit card sales person in malls? What do you do when they approach you? You either avoid them, dismiss them, or maybe… just interested in the free gifts.
But when you want to find a credit card? You will willingly submit yourself to their sales pitch.
This is no different when it comes to personal development and growth. There are so many things everyday that happen around us that is worthy of learning. “Teachers” are everywhere, but we will only start to learn when our heart is ready.
Personal Finance journey is all about growth
All of us treat our finances differently based on our own personal belief and experiences. That’s why personal finance is so… personal.
It is also one that requires continuous learning to adapt and improve on. I share freely on my thoughts in my posts about how I treat my personal finances, but these are all merely my opinion and my beliefs. It will resonate with some of you, and also be in opposition to some others’ thinking.
It could change at any point in time too!
There are people whom I’ve been speaking about investing and not letting all your money sit in a 0.2% interest bank account. There are also people who approached me themselves to seek advice or opinion about their financial health. The former never did anything to-date, the latter took immediate action.
I believe that everyone has their own journey to go through. Some will learn, some will burn, some will go nowhere. Whichever it is, we cannot impose our beliefs on another. At least.. not until the student is ready.
