It's 2024... Happy New YOU!

Welcome to Seeds 4 Growth issue #14!

In each issue, I will use the “Higher Power of 4’s” to provide 4 “seeds” within a particular topic designed to inspire individuals, teams, and organizations to find purpose in fulfilling their true growth potential. And by doing so, grow leaders into living legacy builders who can make a positive, lasting impact in the world.

Within my #1 Best-Selling book, The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder, I outline a holistic model for purposeful growth that features a LEAF as a natural symbol of growth as well as an acronym (Leadership, Engagement, Accountability, and Fulfillment) to help grow you 4-ward at work. As found in nature as well as in life, we go through various seasons of growth, transformation, harvest and regeneration.

“Growth is seen as an endless series of daily choices and decisions in each of which one can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth.”

— Abraham Maslow, Psychology of Science

Let me start off my first newsletter in 2024 by wishing you all a warm, heartfelt “Happy New Year!”

Followed closely behind “Happy Birthday” and “Happy Holidays”—as well as in connection with other major holidays (e.g., Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, etc.)—it seems like we are all aligned behind the pursuit of happiness on some level, right?

I know many of you have created a list of New Year’s resolutions, or possibly settled on a key word or theme for the new year to accomplish specific personal goals designed to make you happier.

That’s great!

OK, we’re now only a few days into 2024—how are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions so far?

I thought so!

There’s a simple reason why we tend not to keep our New Year’s resolutions very long—we’re humans (not robots)! The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, right?

As such, we often set unrealistic goals that leave us feeling down or defeated when we don’t measure up. Many times, it is because we are impatient and want to experience results right away. When we don’t see immediate results, we tend to get down on ourselves and create negative self-talk.

These negative feelings toward ourselves can create a “ripple effect” that, over time, can lead to a whirlpool, which can suck us down in a spiral of self-sabotage. Like wet cement when it begins to harden, this creates a negative mindset that can cloud our ability to grow in purposeful ways.

That doesn’t sound very “happy” to me?

You see, I believe words matter as they lead to intentions that grow into actions which ultimately, result in feelings. At the end of the day, how we feel matters most. And for those of us in careers, it doesn’t matter what our vocation is, or what industry we work in, we are all in the feelings business.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

— Maya Angelou

In relation to the age-old practice of creating a list of New Year’s resolutions— most of which do not last beyond Valentine’s Day—what if we changed the word, resolution to intention?

A resolution comes across to me as kind of a black or white, pass or fail exercise; whereas an intention represents a mental state where a person commits themselves to a particular course of action. Here there are varying shades of gray and related degrees of progress.

I have heard the saying, “Pursue progress over perfection”—and I agree with it because nobody is perfect. And I believe that making steady progress toward purposeful growth will lead to performance improvement and, ultimately, goal attainment. And, like a tree, purposeful growth takes time.

Yes, this is coming from a Type A++ serial achiever and (still) recovering perfectionist who has now realized how much stress and anxiety I have caused myself (and others) by pursuing a level of perfection that just doesn’t exist. To counter that, I came up with what I call, “The 80% Right Rule” whereby we should be able to make a decision to move forward with 80% of the information as opposed to waiting for 100% of the information that will likely never come.

To make steady progress toward purposeful growth, it is vitally important to meld together both focus and action.

If we have focus without action, we are merely stuck in idle. Likewise, if we have action but no focus, we are merely spinning our wheels—getting tired but, unfortunately, no closer to our goals.

Now, if we have a clear focus on the right/best direction for our journey and we take the appropriate action, we will get to our destination; even if we have to course-correct a few times along the way. But it all must start with a clear focus—followed by purposeful action.

I learned that Ayurveda is a Hindu term for medicine. It represents the harmonic balance between a person’s mind, body, and spirit to nurture one’s health. I won’t argue with that; however, I feel like there is an important fourth element—the soul—to help fulfill one’s unique purpose.

“The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering . . . but in the development of the soul.”

— Alexander Solzhenitsyn

As I’ve stated in previous writings, instead of starting with Why (sorry Simon Sinek), I believe we should all start with Who—specifically Who we “serve” within 4 different, but very interrelated realms:

1. Spiritual—Personal Belief System/Practices

2. Relational—Family, Friends, Neighbors, Community

3. Professional—Team Members, Customers, Business Partners, Networks

4. Personal—Mind, Body, Spirit, Soul

Starting with Who we serve will lead us to our Why (purpose/motivations), How (unique gifts/talents) and What (roles/responsibilities). Like a 4-circle Venn diagram, only when these 4 realms are integrated and aligned—all revolving around the pursuit of purposeful growth—can you expect to make progress in achieving your performance goals.

Now let’s put the focus on your Personal realm of service—essentially, what makes you YOU as a whole person—so you can be fortified to support your other three realms of service. Hey, if you do not practice self-care, you will not be any good to anyone else, right?

As a whole person, there are 4 key elements that must be aligned and integrated —all revolving around purposeful growth—for you to lead a healthy, well-balanced and purposeful life:

1. Mind—mental health (what you think)
2. Body—physical health (how you feel)
3. Spirit—spiritual health (what you believe)
4. Soul—eternal health (what survives you)

Is your mind, body, spirit, and soul focused clearly on growing into your unique purpose in both life and work?

Now let’s consider the word, happiness in relation to our personal growth and purpose fulfillment.

According to scientists from Harvard who have been conducting a longitudinal study on the topic of happiness in relation to health and longevity since 1938, there are some very interesting findings that go beyond personal to include social impacts.

The research suggests that tending to your relationships is an important form of self-care, just as vital as taking care of your body. These are some of the most interesting highlights of the study:?

• Close ties help delay mental and physical decline, and contribute more to happiness than money, fame, social class, IQ, and genetics.??

• Relationship satisfaction is a better indicator of how people will grow old than their middle-age cholesterol level.??

• People with a strong sense of community benefit from better memory function. Empathy and attachment are key to healthy aging.?

• Loneliness can be as powerful a negative influence on health as smoking or alcoholism. As Waldinger puts it, “Loneliness kills.”?

The science is clear: emphasizing warm relationships is one of the best things you can do to ensure a long and healthy life. Community in its various forms is the number one determining factor for happiness—and pursuing happiness, it turns out, is an important act of self-care.??

Coincidentally, I recently came across an article written by David Brooks published in The New York Times highlighting the difference between happiness and joy. I thought it was both thought-provoking and highly relevant to this discussion on the importance of words. Brooks states:

Happiness usually involves a victory for self. Joy tends to involve the transcendence of self. Happiness comes from accomplishments. Joy comes from when your heart is in another. The core point is that happiness is good, but joy is better.

While I don’t disagree with Brooks’ thesis, it got me thinking there might be an even deeper, more meaningful, and longer-lasting feeling than fun, happiness, or joy—fulfillment.

• Fun takes place in our body

- Momentary outer-level feeling

- Connected to context

- “I had fun at the concert last night!”

• Happiness takes place in our mind

- Short-term, surface-level feeling

- Connected to self

- “I’m very happy at the moment.”

• Joy takes place in our heart

- Longer-term, deeper-level feeling

- Connected to others

- “It gives me great joy to serve others.”

• Fulfillment takes place in our soul

- Eternal, spiritual-level feeling

- Connected to purpose

- “I feel a deep sense of fulfillment.”

All these feelings are vitally important for growth; however, I believe fun is an important respite while happiness on certain levels can lead to a deeper sense of lasting joy. But I believe the concept of the Purpose Fulfillment is even more important—encompassing all of one’s life journey and the living legacy paid backward for the benefit of others.

Fulfillment: 1. To bring into actuality; effect or make real: fulfilled their promises; fulfilled their dream. 2. To do, perform, or obey; carry out. 3. To meet; satisfy.

I believe we attain fulfillment naturally when we “grow into” our purpose and in communion with our creator. But given we are human organisms who thrive in community, we need to be nurtured along our growth journey to fulfill our unique purpose while helping others do likewise.

Regardless of what your specific purpose may be, like a tree, we are all put on this earth to grow and bear fruit. According to Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV), the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Regardless of your religious convictions, can we all agree these fruits can be fulfilling on both a personal and interpersonal level?

If so, are you focused on taking intentional actions toward growing into your purpose to help make a positive difference in your life, your family’s, your team/organization’s, and the lives of others in the world?

But more than just short-term, inner-directed growth resolutions (you likely won’t keep), true fulfillment represents a more long-term, outer-directed pursuit that creates a living legacy by enriching others on their growth journey. Unlike the prior example, this “ripple effect” is positive and life-giving as opposed to negative and life-draining.

Believe it or not—you do have a choice.

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

— C. S. Lewis

And what if you played on a team or worked for an organization that cultivated a fertile and nurturing growth environment where you and others could achieve and sustain peak performance?

How powerful would that be?

Let me ask it in a way geared more to C-Suite executives, boards of directors, and shareholders: How much more profitable could that be?

• New Team Member Attraction Growth
• Team Member Engagement/Performance Growth
• Team Member Retention Growth
• Revenue/Profit Growth
• Market Share Growth
• Guest/Customer Satisfaction Growth
• Stock Price Growth
• Market Cap Growth

To compete for and retain top talent in “The Great Repurposing” era, companies are going to have to think radically about how to fully leverage the power of their people. The outdated command and control leadership model is going the way of the dodo bird. It's not a question of Purpose OR Profit—it's all in the AND!

Here's a powerful concept to consider:

What if we provided necessary resources for our team members to be more human as opposed to treating them merely like resources?

Leaders who provide ways to help team members enrich their mind, body, spirit, and soul to nurture the growth and development of the whole person in pursuit of their purpose—in both life and work—will be even more important than just financial compensation. This will create a positive "ripple effect" to help enrich all stakeholders—Team Members, Customers, Business Partners and Communities.

Power to the People…. Right on!

Now, I have 4 important questions for you as you become more intentional this year in building community to help grow into your purpose in both life and work:

Seeds 4 Growth

1. Mind—Do you cultivate a positive growth mindset?
2. Body—Do you nurture your body so growth can occur?
3. Spirit—Do you intentionally pursue growth opportunities for the present?
4. Soul—Do you have a yearning to leave a growth legacy for the future?

The new world of work is changing... on purpose.

Let’s put the “Human” back in Human Resources.

If you are interested in learning how you, your team, or your organization can find purpose in fulfilling your true growth potential, I would be delighted to work with you. Please visit my website at https://www.MarkAMears.com and let’s get growing.

The Purposeful Growth Revolution is ON!

Are you IN?