One of the Invaluable Laws of Growth in the Maxwell book 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth is THE LAW OF AWARENESS which states, "You must know yourself to grow yourself." In order to develop your growth strategy, you have to first know yourself.
So, who are you? As James Russell Lowell stated, "No one can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with him/herself." You first need to know who you are.
And what are the things you need to know? In order to grow yourself you must first know your strengths, weaknesses/areas needing improvement, your interests, and your opportunities.
You need to become aware of who you are, and you need to know what your passions and purpose are – know where you have been and where you are now – to be able to set a course for where you want to go, in order to reach your potential and be successful in life.
This law of awareness speaks about there being 3 kinds of people when it comes to finding direction in life:
- 1People who do not know what they would like to do – they are confused and lack a strong sense of purpose, so they dabble in a lot of different things, they drift and cannot seem to reach their potential because they have no idea what to shoot for.
- 1People who know what they would like to do but don't do it – these people are frustrated. Sometimes various fear factors prevent them from doing what they want to do, e.g., lack of resources or fear of trading security for the unknown.
- 1People who know what they want to do and do it – these people know themselves, possess a strong sense of passion, are focused on their purpose, grow in areas that help them to move closer to their purpose, and do what they were created to do. The word that best describes them is fulfilled. And these are the people who normally succeed in life.
Which one are you? If you are any of the first 2, you need to start your personal growth journey in order to become fulfilled.