“Maturity does not come with age, sometimes age comes alone.”

I want to take a few posts and focus on personal growth. If I could only give you one piece of advice for your life, with the exception of going after God, I would tell you to develop a plan for personal growth.

Why? Because growth = happiness. Show me someone who is growing personally, I’ll show you a happy person. Show me a couple that is growing in their marriage, I’ll show you a happy couple. Show me  someone who is working for a growing organization, I’ll show you someone who loves their job. Show me someone is growing in their walk with God, I’ll show you someone who is happier than they have ever been.

Most people stop growing once they finish formal education, whether that is high school or college. People think that they will naturally keep growing as they get older. That isn’t always true. It’s been said that, “Maturity does not come with age, sometimes age comes alone.” Personal growth has to be intentional.

Personal growth will set you apart from others. Personal growth will open doors for you. Personal growth will get you promoted. Personal growth will take you places you would otherwise not be able to go. Personal growth will allow you to get around people you would not be able to get around otherwise.

If you want to be happy in every area of your life, you need to commit to growing in those areas!

I’ll be asking you over the next few days to commit to a personal growth plan. I have been growing intentionally since I was 17 years old and it’s been one of the most exciting journey’s I have ever had. I hope that these posts will help you start your own journey of personal growth. I promise you, it will be one of the greatest decisions you make in your life!

Do you do anything intentional to grow? Do you have a personal growth plan? Are their areas of your life where you are not happy? Are you growing in those areas?

“Our problem is not too little time but making better use of the time we have. Each of us has as much time as anyone else. The president of the United States has the same twenty-four hours as we. Others may surpass our abilities, influence, or money, but no one has more time.” – J. Oswald Chambers

The older I get, the more I want my life to count. In fact, not just my life, but I want my years to count, my months, my weeks, my days, and my minutes. I want to live a full life and to do that I need to quit wasting time doing things that aren’t helping me live a life that matters!

Here are some thoughts on time by J. Oswald Chambers, think about these for a few moments:

“The way we employ the surplus hours, after provision has been made for work, meals, and sleep, will determine if we develop into mediocre or powerful people.”

 ”If we are careful about days, the years will take care of themselves.”

The reality is that even the best of us waste hours every day. In my pursuit of making my time count, here are some of the best tips I have heard and implemented to make my time count:

Plan Your Day in Advance – This is hard for me because I like being spontaneous, but the more I mature, the more I recognize I need to plan out my entire day, prioritize my tasks, and get to work!

Track Your Time - Twice a year, you should write down what you are doing and have done every 15 minutes. It is a pain in the butt, but you will at least recognize how much time you’re wasting and how much is spent on actually producing.

Reflect on Your Day – Did I use my day well? Did I accomplish what I set out to accomplish?

Stop Doing Things That Don’t Help You – Watching hours of TV, spending hours on social media sites, you name your time waster. Whatever they are, severely limit them.

Start Doing Things That Will Help You – Read a book, call a friend, network, join a group, workout, etc.

How much time are you wasting? What do you need to stop doing? What do you need to start doing?