10 Simple Ways of Growth
There is something about growth, about being the healthiest you, the healthiest version of yourself that has captivated my attention and led me to coaching.
After waking up this morning and taking a sip of coffee, I contemplated the journey I’ve been on to find that place of health.
We all know that in the busy, crazy of life, in a world full of chaos, finding health can be a struggle.
Being surrounded by unhealthy people or unhealthy situations or constant stress and transition can make it extremely difficult to find your healthiest you. Not only to find that place, but to stay there.
I sipped my coffee and thought, “Staying there is the hardest part.”
It’s so easy to slip back into unhealthy patterns when life gets crazy, things change or challenges come our way.
Staying healthy and growing is a goal that needs Jesus on a daily basis.
But with his help, I am finding that slowly I am changing. I’m growing and finding health.
I’m finding myself in the most unsettled year of my life with some of the most outrageous challenges and realizing that each day is a day to choose health.
As God writes every single page of my story, I want to learn, grow and develop the areas he is teaching me. I want to be a good steward of pages of my story. I want to help others as God write their story.
In the process, I’m learning some health tips that might help you on your journey to your healthiest you.
These healthy growth tips are simple, real and can quickly be applied to your life.
Remember, becoming the healthiest version of yourself doesn’t mean perfect or everything works out exactly how you hoped.
Healing, becoming healthy, and growing personally means that you’re better able to regulate your emotions, handle situations with maturity, and be a healthy person, making healthy choices even when life around you continues in crazy patterns.
Of course, there is a lot more to being healthy but this is a list to get you started.
Simple health tips:
1} Stay faithful in the Word – I love the youversion app for this. I am currently reading through the Bible with a plan that helps me stay accountable in my reading. Whether you read on an app, keep your Bible open on your desk, print a list of verses to read while you get ready in the morning… however you choose to include God’s Word in your day, it will help you be the healthiest you. You can not be healthy on the inside without putting healthy things in on a daily basis. You can’t pour out healthy things for others if you aren’t pouring healthy things in.
Want to chat about how I can help you establish this routine? Let’s chat about it!
2} Look inward – Say a prayer and ask God to help you see yourself in new ways. For me, this was learning more about the enneagram and taking the DiSC profile. Where I’ve always been a little leery of personality tests and self-help assessments, I’m realizing that to be my healthiest self, I need to know myself. I need to look inward, find out why I do the things I do and learn more about the lens through which I see the world around me. The enneagram specifically has increased my knowledge of people, my understanding of myself and my compassion for why people do/say the things they do. I can’t say it enough… learn about you by looking inward to find your healthiest you.
More Helpful Resources for looking inward:
The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
Your Enneagram Coach and her free assessment
As always, there’s balance: When Self-Discovery Becomes Self-Worship
3} You time – This is a real thing, friends. As I’ve learned more about myself, I’ve learned what kind of time helps us be the healthiest we can be each day. For me, it’s QUIET. Time to read or write or journal or sleep. Time without people or expectations or problems to solve. If I don’t carve quiet into my day or make sure I get enough sleep, I can’t expect to be at my best. We must remember that it’s not selfish or demanding to need “you time” to be your healthiest you. It’s a valuable investment for you and for your family.
I also want to add that if there’s special needs, neurodiversity or chronic health issues, taking time for yourself becomes even more vital.
Spoons and Capacity – Read this to learn more about how different things impact your capacity
4} Keep learning – We can’t be healthy and choose not to learn. We can’t be healthy while being settled, stagnant and stuck. This life is full of new things, new places, new cultures, and new ideas. Honestly, the last 10 years of my life has been one lesson after another from beginning missions, language study, budget raising, moving overseas, language learning {yes, that is different from study} and culture discovery. In the midst of all of that, I’ve realized how much I have yet to learn about leadership, ministry, people and our world. This journey to find my healthiest self has me pursuing new degrees, certifications and doing a lot of reading. Also, in an effort to learn, I keep a journal of new things I want to learn on my desk to inspire me to just keep learning.
5} Choose well – I’ve found myself in some very difficult situations over the past years. As a 6 on the enneagram, I don’t mind tough conversations or hard discussions. I tend to see the good, the bad and the ugly of these moments. I can see a mess, sort it out and find the best course of action. My gifts include problem solving, acting and fixing. But that isn’t always the best choice. Sometimes I need to choose a different response. In one situation, I had to sit silently because I knew that to bring health to the situation, I needed to stay quiet. I needed to just listen. Not speak. Not defend. Not ask. Just listen. That was the healthiest choice at that moment. Not only for the other person, but for me. I get tired quickly {my 5 wing} so expending energy on unhelpful conversations or unwanted ideas is not healthy for me.
Evaluating, thinking through, making wise choices towards health is very beneficial on this journey. As a coach, I love helping others with this.
6} Find community – This is very important. Find community that is also on a journey to health. Find friends who are looking inward and talk about what you are learning. Follow instagram stories of those who are taking steps to choose well and stay in the Word. Listen to a podcast, go for lunch with a friend, read a blog post, share a comment… all with the focus of finding more people on the same journey as you for health.
7} Speak truth in love – So many unhealthy situations, practices, conversations, moments in life are unhealthy because they are clouded in secrecy, closed rooms and untruths. In becoming your healthiest you, you must determine to speak truth in love. To shed light on darkness, to speak life and light into unhealthy places and to be the one willing to be vulnerable. For you, you might need to speak truth into a family situation or speak truth over coffee with a friend. Learning how and when to speak truth is a valuable lesson in being your healthiest you.
8} Physical health – This is such a hard one. In the very real crazy of life, choosing water over a cold Coke or deciding on no ice cream at the end of a long day is not easy. I prefer M&Ms and french fries over carrots and cucumbers any day. I also prefer cuddling up on the couch with a book over walking on my treadmill while listening to a podcast. But… the journey to the healthiest you means making these kinds of choices every day. Being physically healthy plays a huge role in your overall health. It greatly impacts how you feel, how you handle day-to-day situations and how you process what is happening around you.
9} Go slow – Growth and becoming the healthiest versions of ourselves is a life long journey. It involves waiting, making mistakes, relearning past lessons and choosing to do the next beautiful thing. Go slow. Give yourself grace. Invite Jesus into the process at every turn. One day at a time. This comes into play by taking time to rest. Don’t hurry this journey of growth and health. It means taking the time to name your feelings, talk about them, pray about them, and recognize them in those around you. {see the wheel below}
As Jonathan Trotter states “It’s easier to deal with my feelings (or someone else’s feelings) when I identify what it actually is that I’m (they’re) feeling.” You can find this wheel and more resources from Jonathan here. Go slow… take the time needed to recognize what you are going through, what those around you might be experiencing and pray about out what God is showing you through these real thoughts, emotions and feelings.
I wrote a little bit about my growth journey at Grit and Virtue: A Soft Strength – Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
10} Stay in your own lane – You can only choose health for you. Don’t try to compare yourself with others. Don’t try to run at a pace that isn’t your own. Be you and allow God to work in you in his timing, in his way and in his plan. Being healthy is a journey, a story he is writing just for you.
As I write out these simple growth tips, I’m challenged to keep on the path of learning, growing, and becoming healthy. I feel a renewed sense of purpose that these simple steps towards health are worth all the struggle, time, effort and angst to get there.
Just to keep it real… I recently sent out an apology message to a friend because I’d once again failed to be the healthy voice.
None of us are perfect. But we all can be on a journey of growth to be our healthiest selves.
We all can choose health on a daily basis.
Then, as we take these simple steps, we can sit back and watch what God does through healthy lives serving him in healthy ways in all areas around the world.
The Family of God working in tandem, in health together.
What a beautiful, precious, worthwhile goal for us all.
What simple steps toward growth are you taking today?
What are some ways you are becoming your healthiest you?