This picture of my 1 year old says it all.
From a young age, humans are curious, fearless and eager for more. Even with a hundred balls at his feet, he wants the one he can’t reach.
Isn’t it a shame, however, that striving for more than you have is often seen as a negative. I’m sure you’ve heard these phrases a few times: “You are never happy with what you’ve got” or “Just be grateful for what you have”.
It just doesn’t seem the norm to continually surge forward and progress. It’s almost as if people reach a comfortable point in their job or their life (young or old) and then we stop supporting them to develop. We expect them to slow down on the achievements. The medals. The promotions. I’m sure you see it yourself all the time – people stagnating and then losing the inspiration and desire to reach outside of the ball pit and find that something extra.
Top performers are different. Whether it’s in work, sport or through hobbies, top performers are relentless in the pursuit of improvement. They never stop looking for ways to push forward and in most cases they ensure that they have people around them who believe in them and guide them.
Top performers are tuned into their ‘Growth Mindset’, something I talk a lot about on my Hack Yourself modern leadership training courses. In a way, babies have this mindset, until they are conditioned otherwise.
And so I go back to the picture of my son reaching for more. Do I start teaching him about the ways of the world that so many people conform to – such as being content with an average lot, and not rocking the boat?
Or do I fuel the natural desire within him to search for more? To be curious about what else is out there? To dance with the possible?
I’m going for the latter…because today he is reaching for a ball, but tomorrow he may reach for the stars.
In the last year I’ve trained over 25 brands on modern leadership, and the overriding sense I get is that we all have it in ourselves to reach for more, and to step up a gear in our lives to fulfil our potential, but it can sometimes take quite a jolt to get us to change those gears.
It strikes me that when we do step up to take on a new lease of life with our approach to work and leadership, we become childlike again… curious, fearless and eager for more.
Here’s to reaching further.
Jack
Jack Lowman is founder and author of Hack Yourself. His one-day courses use modern hacking mentality and techniques to enable individuals to become the best leader they can be, no matter what their job title or responsibilities.
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