‘Become Your Next Best Self’. Sounds cliche? Maybe. But if you think about it, not so much.
Everyday a diverse range of personal development and leadership gurus talk about an industry that hints at improving ‘who you are today, so that you can become a better you tomorrow’. At Rise School we talk about helping leaders become their ‘Next Best Self’ because personal growth and learning in general is a never ending journey. Each growth milestone opens you up to the next and the next and too, the realization that there’s always a higher self to keep scaling. This explains why millions of dollars have been poured into an industry whose market size in 2021 was valued at USD 50706.94 million and boasts a CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) of 6.13% during the forecast period, reaching USD 72476.7 million by 2027.
It follows that executive and business leaders across the globe are in a relentless pursuit of success and personal growth. This seemingly endless quest for self-improvement and leadership excellence, thrives on guidance, introspection and a willingness to glean wisdom from various sources.
In this article, we delve into some invaluable insights that provide a roadmap to unlock your potential and become the best version of yourself, that is: Your Next Best Self.
Re-Educating Your Heart, Mind & Will
So what does it really mean to become Your Next Best Self? In her podcast by the same name, Rise School Founder Dr Patricia Murugami encourages listeners to embrace change and adaptability. She underscores the significance of cultivating emotional intelligence and resilience to navigate life’s challenges effectively. By re-educating our hearts to be more compassionate and empathetic, our minds to be open to fresh perspectives, and our will to be unwavering in the pursuit of our goals, we can achieve significant strides towards self-improvement.
At the core, what does this look like?
1. Becoming A Perpetual Learner.
This means persistent curiosity and habit of asking ‘why’ questions: Being curious not only opens you up to the world around you but it can help you get to the root cause of a problem, which means you learn to address the actual issues of a problem and not just its symptoms.
Becoming a perpetual learner also means being keen on opportunities that are unique or unusual to you. This may require you to exercise intellectual humility and welcoming challenges to your belief. It will also require that you seek out and choose good mentors, at various stages of your growth because the truth is, no matter how much you know about a problem or subject matter, you can’t know everything.
2. Studying Your Successes
Success is often perceived as the culmination of diligent effort, unwavering determination, and unrelenting perseverance. A Harvard Business Review (HBR) article offers an intriguing perspective on becoming our ‘best selves’ by studying our successes. It highlights the importance of introspection and self-awareness. You become more successful if you learn from your past successes (and failures). While examining your past successes ask yourself questions like:
- Where are you right now?
- Where do you want to eventually be in the near or far flung future?
- What were the key factors that led to these achievements?
- What skills, attitudes, or behaviors were instrumental in your success?
By dissecting your achievements, you identify patterns and with the help of a coach or mentor can develop a clear roadmap for replicating those successes in the future. The value of setting clear and specific goals cannot be understated; a well defined objective aligns your efforts with your aspirations, increasing your likelihood of achieving them. Constructive feedback from trusted mentors or colleagues can be a great catalyst for growth.
3. Shifting Your Mindset
Your mindset is pivotal to your journey towards self-improvement. A Stanford News article sheds light on the power of shifting mindsets. It discusses the concept of a “fixed” versus a “growth” mindset. Individuals with a fixed mindset often view their abilities and intelligence as static, leading to a fear of failure and a reluctance to take risks. On the other hand, those with a growth mindset see challenges as opportunities for learning and personal growth.
In the Art of Learning, chess prodigy and world tai chi champion Josh Waitszkin argues that a passionate commitment to growth leads to both competitive success and a fulfilling life. To shift towards a growth mindset, it’s imperative to embrace challenges, persist through setbacks, and view effort as a conduit to mastery. This shift empowers you to overcome obstacles and continuously improve, whilst ultimately avoiding a ‘lull’ in your career. The great eagle and rabbit tale highlights this well.
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked: “Can I also sit and do nothing?”
The eagle responded: “Yes, sure why not?”
So the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of sudden a fox appeared from nowhere, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing you must be sitting very, very high up.
Remember that personal growth is an ongoing process, and the path to leadership excellence knows no end. At Rise School we offer online executive leadership programs that provide agile leadership tools and programs to help you achieve leadership excellence and in turn become ‘Your Next Best Self’. Learn more about our programs by clicking on this link.
