5 Signs of Personal Growth

Since the recovery of my skin cancer, I decided to take this second chance that life gave me with both hands. I was determined to live my life at its fullest and share my gifts with the world. I had (and still have) many coaches and learned from numerous mentors. The expansion and growth within myself is something that I treasure enormously.

I realize at a very deep level that the only premise to change your life, to live freely and create the life you have always dreamed of, is to change your own beliefs, to change your mindset and to raise your awareness.

These are the signs which are the most prominent for me when a person starts to grow:

You don’t sweat the small stuff any longer

Since you realize how precious life is, how quickly things can turn around, you don’t worry anymore about small stuff. Will the laundry be done in time? Will the neighbors talk about our garden which isn’t perfect? What did that colleague mean exactly with that comment about my latest report?

You know at the end of the day what really matters is, did I feel joy during the day, did I show my love and appreciation for the people around me, did I make a difference today. Because if you wouldn’t wake up tomorrow, and this was your last day, you wouldn’t worry over any laundry or garden.

This bigger perspective on life brings ease and calm even if you go through stormy days. You stay centered and connected with your heart.

Gratitude is a way of life

This has really been life-changing for me. The deep realization that I got a second life, because at 32 I was told I had 6 months to live, imprinted me with a big awe and gratitude for being alive, for breathing, for waking up healthy.

Waking up every morning and before leaving the bed, I say thank you, thank you for being alive, thank you for having a roof above my head, thank you for my supportive husband and 3 healthy, wonderful kids. It sounds so simple that one would forget about it, but it is ESSENTIAL for taking your life to another level.

If you don’t do so already, I urge you to practice gratitude in the morning and in the evening, to have some gratitude journal or to do it with your partner and children, it shifts your life: you focus on what you have so abundantly instead of focusing on what might be lacking.

Awareness of your own patterns

Once you begin to see patterns in your behavior, you have raised your awareness to a very powerful level. You can see now what triggers you, what behavior of your spouse or children, what comment of your boss, … And instead of reacting in a default mode, you can turn inside and see what exactly is happening within you and how you could change your behavior.

These patterns also make you aware of what inside of you needs to be addressed and healed. You also learn to see certain patterns within other people and you gain the power not to react in the same old way. You learn to see that you don’t have to react at all.

Sometimes when a person said something that triggered me, I see myself getting upset and instead of going into the discussion, I focus on my breath and decide not to react to what has been said. I decide to calm down first before reacting. I won’t say it always works, and when I get upset anyway and get drawn into a discussion I didn’t want to have, I realize it afterwards and see where I have still to learn and grow.

You feel a deep need to make a positive impact in this world

Since a child I felt a deep need to share a message of kindness and compassion. But life went on and this urge went into the background of my life. Since the decision to take my life in my own hands and not to be lived anymore, this need came to the surface again.

At the same time the fear of not being taken seriously vanished and this comes together with the next one:

You speak your truth and you have an increased self-confidence to go against the crowd

The choice to become a personal coach/business coach was not perceived very well by the people around me. I was running a successful construction business and people didn’t understand why I would change careers.

Since I felt so confident about myself and my choices, I took a step every day towards my dream of running a coaching business, guiding people through storms in their lives, helping people get clear on their purpose and be successful in their business, inspiring people with my story of how I overcame so many hurdles in my life.

If you see that you can relate to one or more of these signs, you are on the right path. It is a path of ups and downs, for me also, but this journey is so rewarding because of the human being you become, human in the real sense of the word.

If you want to find out more about my work or receive my newsletter, you can sign up here: https://startthelifeofyourdreams.leadpages.co/optin/

I wish you a wonderful day!

Love, Barbara.