Let’s begin with the obvious: For change to occur, we have to be open to it. And yet most people are not. We tend to be pretty stuck in our ways. As Mark Twain said, “I’m in favor of progress; it’s change I don’t like.” My own experience is that people change when they’re ready … or when circumstances force their hand.
But assuming we are ready to grow, the formula to ascend in any area of our lives—be it athletic, business, personal, or interpersonal—requires two things: awareness and action. We have to understand more, and then we have to act on it. It’s not enough to read an article, or a book, or attend the greatest lecture in the world. Notes are not enough. Unless we truly understand something, and then work at it, we’re not going to get better. This holds true for golf, sales, business management, relationships and everything else we aspire to.
However, while it may sound simple in theory, practice is another thing. First of all, to open our minds and hearts, we have to get past our self-imposed limitations, biases, fears and misconceptions. We have to question our reality.
There’s also the matter of our self-image. We all have a strong sense of how good we are (or aren’t) at this, that and the other thing. If you doubt me, just ask yourself how good of a musician, athlete, dancer, salesperson or techie you are. Note how your brain is quick to provide an answer. And if you try and tell your brain that you’re all of a sudden much better, rest assured it can drag up the files and photos to prove that you’re not. Self-image is a function of our programming and our proof.
If you want to get better, you’ll have to prove that you can do better. That’s when you’ll believe it. That’s when your self-image changes. That’s when you start acting differently because you are different. That’s when you look for new opportunities and show up to claim your due. That’s when you act the part and persevere, because that’s who you now are.
Awareness is the ability to perceive what is going on—or not going on—in the world around us and within us. Awareness is about paying attention, and it pertains to both the conscious and subconscious realms.
Paying attention is proactive. It is a conscious act that expands our consciousness. Attention fosters awareness, and expanded awareness is our springboard to elevated understanding and growth. True attention entails looking, listening and learning without prejudice. Conversely, restricted awareness translates to limited information and diminished understanding, which leads to unnecessary mistakes, stagnation or worse.
This is a journey of self-discovery. It is not just an intellectual exercise. Our essence resides in our body and in our soul, not just in our mind. Therefore, we must go and listen and feel wherever and however we can. We must sense and confront our blockages and biases if we are to be open and grow. And if we allow ourselves to be fascinated, learning comes more easily.
“When you really pay attention, everythingis your teacher.” —Ezra Bayda
However, growth and fulfillment don’t just depend on increasing how much information we take in. We also have to consider the validity and reliability of that information. And we need to understand how and why everything fits together.