Making Growth a Habit

As a leader, executive coach and business owner, I know that I can never stop the habit of personal and professional growth — it is too important to my success. I am constantly seeking out ways to personally raise the bar so that I can bring more value to those that I serve. I know I have to be filled up for me to pour into others and help them grow.

M. Gray said, “The successful person has the habit of doing the things that failures don’t like to do. The successful person doesn’t like doing them either but his dislike is subordinated to the strength of his purpose.” My purpose is to help leaders go from success to significance.

Right now, I’m studying and applying the concepts in Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book “Switch on Your Brain.” She uses neuroscience to explain how thoughts are formed and how they impact us both physically and emotionally. She has a 21-day brain detox in her book that I’m applying right now — you select a negative or toxic thought that you want to ‘unglue’ using her five-step process and every day for 21 days you build up a new thought in its place that better serves you. I’m in the first week and already notice a difference in my confidence and shedding my ‘toxic’ thought.

It is a 21-day process because that’s the minimum amount of time that it takes for a new practice to become a habit. Nothing changes overnight and nothing changes without intentional focus and effort — especially when you’re trying to break an old habit and start a new habit.

I know that this will make me better personally and I’ll be able to help those I serve apply this as well — that is what I love about my growth — I get to help others with theirs. How are you growing? What are you doing intentionally to improve your thinking? Your thinking impacts your behaviors and your behaviors directly influence your results. Want to change your results? Start with changing your thinking! There is no magic pill, no silver bullet, no easy fix — it takes work, focus and intentional purpose but it is worth it!

I work with CEOs and their teams to help them go from success to significance. If you are interested in talking to me to see if we can mutually help each other, go ahead and schedule a free 30-minute conversation.

Jill Windelspecht, ’92, is a Certified Executive Coach in Emotional Intelligence. Blending neuroscience, social science and 20 years of experience leading talent management globally, she provides executives, organizations and individuals coaching and consulting to help them move from success to significance. Learn more about Jill Windelspecht.