Growth & Development

My cousins and I all grew up with ice skating as one of our activities. A few of them were tremendously good at it, I never really was. But my older cousin who was fantastic, graceful, well-practiced, and calm, eventually became a coach. When I was young I never understood why, she as a coach, also still was being coached. It wasn’t like she was actively competing anymore, she wasn’t often performing in shows, but she despite teaching others was still herself taking lessons on a regular basis.

All life is learning and perfecting, now that I’m not 10, I understand why she was always being coached. Coaching wasn’t just there for those who wanted to compete or perform, it was there to be used by people who had a passion and a purpose, who always wanted to be better in their field, for growth and personal development.

What I’ve found this week, is that no matter what field we are in, growth matters a great deal. I was working with my students on their research papers- I gave them very broad parameters- they can research any topic they like as long as they can weave communication technology into the topic. My students are working on this paper throughout the semester in stages. I have set the course up in stages because I hope to foster growth and development, each stage they submit should be better than the last. In my world of TV and media, I am constantly trying to take on new roles, to learn new skills and develop old ones. I’ve joined a mentorship program in my workplace for this express purpose. I met tonight with Ryan Walker of R.J. Walker & Co., my partner for media training consulting, we spent two hours developing new strategies to onboard clients and grow our own skillsets.

Growth and development matters down to our very core as human beings, it is what makes athletes strive to break even their own records, it is why I was so disappointed in how my banana bread came out this morning ( I could just hear Paul Hollywood saying “underbaked”), it’s why we try to learn new things and perfect the old ones. It’s why so often someone at the top of their game may get upset when they are called “talented”, no doubt they are but their inherent talent does not negate the hundreds of hours of practice and dedication they have put into their craft. What’s that idea? 10,000 hours to become an expert? No matter the total number of hours, the idea that as humans we strive for perfection is admirable. Even if we can’t be perfect, we can always be better.

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