IN January, some of the content of this column was about personal growth and I did promise I will be placing a lot of emphasis on that. John Maxwell, who is one of my favourite mentors, wrote the book 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, and that book has shifted my mindset. I now host mastermind sessions on these laws.

Recently, I have been intensifying the” law of the rubber band” and I am seeing results. Please allow me to share the content with you.

Growth stops when you lose the tension between where you are and where you could be…
Rubber bands are useful only when they are stretched. That can also be said of us.

1. Few people want to stretch
Most people use only a fraction of their ability and rarely strive to reach their full potential. If there is no tension in your life to grow, there is little desire to stretch.
Too many people are willing to settle for average in life.
Average is what the failures claim to be when their family and friends ask them why they are not more successful.

Average is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best. Which of these are you?

Average means being run-of-the-mill, mediocre, insignificant, and also a nonentity.
Being average is to take up space for no purpose; to take a trip through life, but never pay the fare; to return no interest for God’s investment in you.

To be average is to be forgotten once you pass from this life. The successful are remembered for their contributions; the failures are remembered because they tried; but the average, the silent majority, is just forgotten.

To be average is to commit the greatest crime on can against one’s self, humanity, and one’s God. The saddest epitaph is this: “Here lies Mr. and Mrs. Average – here lies the remains of might have been, except for the belief that they were only average.”
Nobody admires average. The best organisations don’t pay for average. Mediocrity is not worth shooting for.

2. Settling for the status quo ultimately leads to dissatisfaction
Most people are naturally tempted to settle into a comfort zone where they choose comfort over potential. They fall into familiar patterns and habits, doing the same things in the same ways with the same people at the same time and getting the same results.
If you have ever settled for the status quo and then wondered why your life isn’t going the way you hoped, then you need to realise that you will only reach your potential if you have the courage to push yourself outside your comfort zone and break out of a mindset of mediocrity.

3. Stretching always starts from the inside out
Reaching your potential starts from the inside.
Most people have dreams. For some, it’s on the tip of their tongues, and for others, it’s buried deep in their hearts, but everyone has one. However, not many people are pursuing it.
Instead of wishing, wanting, and waiting, people need to search inside themselves for a reason to star
Find a mentor who can help you see yourself for who you could be, not who you currently are. And then use that image to inspire you to start stretching.

4. Stretching always requires change
You can’t improve and avoid change at the same time. It’s difficult to focus on your past and change in the present. Yesterday ended last night. To grow you must be willing to let your present and future be totally unlike your past. Your history is not your destiny.
If you want to grow and change, you must take risks.
Innovation and progress are often initiated by people who push for change.

5. Stretching sets you apart from others
Forget some of the most basic habits you learned in school. Once you are in the real world – and it doesn’t matter if you’re 22 or 62, starting your first job or your fifth – the way you get ahead is to over-deliver.
What do you pride yourself in, average or excellence? Do your daily actions reflect your thoughts?

6. Stretching can become a lifestyle
When we stop stretching, I believe we really stop living. We may keep on breathing. Our vital signs may be working. But we are dead on the inside and dead to our greatest possibilities.
Too many people are dead, but just haven’t made it official yet. If you won’t be better tomorrow than you were today, then what do you need for tomorrow for.

7. Stretching gives you a shot at significance
Significance is birthed within each of us. If we are willing to stretch, that seed can grow until it begins to bear fruit in our lives. Do you think that you can be significant in life and stand out from the pack?

Join me for my upcoming mastermind by emailing your interest to livingwithintention11@gmail.com as we continue to celebrate this beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.