Physical growth is something we take for granted. We never focus on it. We notice one day our children are as tall as we are. The small plant we bought is now much bigger and full of flowers in our yard.
As adults, we are much too busy to notice physical growth. What we do pay attention to, are things like financial growth, professional career growth, relationship growth, or aspirational growth. Where our stated personal goals are much bigger and broader than where we are today. These are much more prominent in our minds than even mental growth after leaving school behind.
The problem with these types of growth is that they always have one unexpected consequence. That is the need for constant change. I am fascinated with this because, in our little company, we are going through one of these growth phases when a lot of our infrastructure is evolving to match higher food safety certifications. Around all of this work, everything else is changing. Software, procedures, and emphasis.
None of us like change. We’re happiest when we have comfort in our routines. As I have gotten older, I find that it’s hard work to continually inject change into our lives.
The hard reality, for all of us to truly comprehend,
is that without change there can be no growth.
None, whatsoever.
We can’t lose weight by eating less of the same food that we did before. We need to now eat differently. Our house can’t be neat if we don’t choose to throw things out that we normally would keep. Our companies cannot grow without bringing new ideas, new procedures, new equipment, or new/different skills into our daily working life.
You can complain about things changing, do nothing to embrace it, and be left behind. Or you could choose to embrace change by finding the excitement in learning about new things and how they can fit together in a new way to help you grow both as a person as well as an organization.
Constant change can be fun. Once you get used to it. If so, what begins to happen is that you begin to look at things, not as how they are, but rather for what they are missing or could be. The fun is in finding out who, what, or how we can fill in the gaps in order to continue to grow.
PS> No one is ever left out of this dynamic. If you so choose.