5 Strategies for Sustainable Growth
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
– Lao Tzu
The dictionary definition of growth is this: The process of increasing in size.
The dictionary definition of sustainable is this: Able to be upheld.
If you’re anything like most quietly ambitious people I know, your definition of sustainable growth is more concerned with momentum and building on roots and seeds you’ve been planting.
And you’re at a time in your life where you’re less interested in the quick wins, and more concerned with setting yourself up for a thriving long-term future.
Most likely it’s what you are craving with the prospect of a whole new year ahead. And you’re being heavily influenced by how last year felt…the good and the bad.
Common areas that you might find yourself craving some momentum include: career, big life decisions around having a family, finances, health, and confidence/ how you show up in those places…ie. Finally wanting to stop feeling like a shell of yourself.
When we are stagnant in the very areas of our life that comprise what make life meaningful on a daily basis, we are, in essence, sabotaging our chances of happiness. Sustainable growth, therefore, is a hugely important endeavour, and one I am extremely passionate about helping you cultivate.
Whilst we all need periods of rest and stillness, over the years I’ve learned various ways to avoid life getting stagnant and have transformed how I use these quieter moments to support sustainable growth.
1. Get intentional
Growth for the sake of growth often has the expectations of society or other people hidden behind it. It’s pretty common to approach growth in this way when we haven’t actually stopped to ask ourselves where we want to go in life, or the simple question of “growth for the sake of what”? A promotion comes our way and we say yes (growth for the sake of growth!) when actually it wasn’t what you wanted. But who are you to turn down a good thing when you don’t have a plan anyway, right?
So get intentional!
Where in your life are you seeking growth this year?
For the sake of what? / What is important about this growth?
How do you want to feel as you grow in this area?
What areas of your life do you want to consider when making this decision?
Suddenly the offer of a promotion looks quite different.
I want to grow as a Leader (I know I am ready!) but I also want to grow in my health (I have been close to burnout this year)
Growing in these areas is important because I have let a lot of promotion opportunities slide because I was feeling so drained. And I can’t afford to treat my body this way anymore.
I want to feel more in control
I am not willing to let my work impact my health and my relationships anymore. I need to reclaim some balance between these areas.
When you pause to reflect on your intentions regarding growth in your life, suddenly how you want to feel and what you want to prioritise gives you a whole lot of clarity before you just say yes. And so you get to respond, saying something like “I want to say yes but I’d really like a conversation to discuss how work will be delegated across the team, and I would also like to propose a 4-day week to make this sustainable for me and other priorities I have”.
I think it’s important to mention that this clarity also means you stop having to wait to be asked in order to go for what you want, so this same conversation could have been instigated by you.
When you notice that you’re grasping for growth for the sake of growth, try reflecting on what hole that grasping is trying to fill. Is there fear around who you would be without the job title? Is there a reason you’re avoiding looking at other life areas which will be impacted?
Acknowledge the grasping instead of giving into autopilot habits is key.
Another line of enquiry you might take is to reflect on the importance of what you are trying to do, in essence, asking yourself, what have I got to lose by allowing growth for the sake of growth to win here?
The key is to take control of what you want growth to mean for you this year and in your life as a whole. Notice the way it shows up for you and recognise when you’re switching off from your sense of agency island falling into autopilot.
2. Lay the foundations
When we know the direction we want our life to go in it is easy to jump straight to look at HOW I can make it happen. When we get excited about our growth, we just want to screw hiding behind plans and get out there. This should work in our favour but more often than not it becomes fertile ground for burnout or chaos to bloom. I wrote about how a gardener’s mindset can help you avoid this chaos here.
My advice is to ask yourself who you need to be in order to direct your energy and actions towards your intention. Give yourself a care package or create your metaphorical support team for what showing up in these new ways is really going to require of you. No more act then deal with the consequences. No more work as many hours as it takes and deal with the impact later.
For example, as a business owner I have had to meticulously design my schedule in order to show up in my work with my Clients energised and with my own needs taken care of. For example - I block out most of Friday for a “CEO day” to work on my business and I make sure the tasks I need to get done are blocked out in separate hour chunks so the day doesn’t just whittle away. I also start that day with a long walk to feel inspired, and I make sure I end it with an end-of-week celebration to stop and appreciate what I have done so it doesn’t all just feel like hustle.
3. Look around
Who has some wisdom they can share with you? Chances are you want to make changes in these areas of your life because you have seen or sense that there is a way of living that would actually make you reclaim the lightness of life again. Find those people living that, find the images of those people/ their vibe, and ask yourself ‘how are they setting themselves up for success?’.
Something which always stays with me is when a yoga teacher who I really admire posted about the spa break she and her partner took before the retreat she ran, and the 3 days she blocked off after the retreat for rest and no work. Part of me was jealous because I had made up a story that I couldn't have that. But THAT is how she turned up glowing and in service for her retreats, not by being a superwoman who can do it all.
This is especially important if you’ve got big changes you want to make. I’m going to bet that you aren’t giving yourself the grace that others who have walked your path had to give themselves. I have absolutely borrowed this yoga teacher’s wisdom. You won’t find me doing back to back Client calls, I always sandwich them between restorative breaks. And you won’t expect me on early morning calls. Before 10am I mostly block out ‘me time’.
Having unrealistic expectations is a recipe for always thinking you are failing, so avoid it by learning from those you admire, and by starting to treat yourself as worthy of that care too.
4. Plan your Seasons
Something that has helped me massively while trying to cultivate growth which is sustainable is to stop planning my year like it’s Summer for 12 months of the year. I find that if left to go with the flow instead of planning ahead, it’s all too easy to think I need to be out there delivering my best work 24/7 but when I plan for the Seasons, I make sure I have a strategy which can be maintained.
Look back at your intentions of growth, and now draw out 12 boxes representing the next 12 months onto your page. How would you like this growth to unfold across your year? For me, January is normally always about setting my foundations for the year ahead. I once organised a workshop at the start of January and realised it was quite a tough gig to be able to show up how I wanted to when what I really wanted to be doing was business planning and setting out my plans… so this year I led it at the end of November instead.
How do you want to plan your year? Do you know you love to take some time off in the Summer? Make room for that!
5. Set your metrics
When you are contemplating making some steps for growth in your life, it is helpful to mentally fast forward to the end of the year and ask yourself what you would like to have achieved.
My mantra which reminds me why it’s important to plan your growth is “All roads lead to nowhere when you don’t know where you are going.”
We set ourselves up to fail when we don’t get specific about what we want to achieve, because there is zero measure of success. We achieve things but we don’t celebrate them because in our mind of no plans, there was always potential to have done more. Once I have laid my seasonal intentions, I then weave in the goals which I want to deliver within each month. This might mean delivering a workshop in the month before I take time off in the Summer, or getting my plans in order for a launch of a new offer of mine when I come back.
When we don’t do this we lose all hope of living up to our intentions behind our growth because there are no boundaries to ensure that the pursuit of our goals is not at the cost of other elements of our life which are important, removing any sense of the word we began with…Sustainable.
And there you have it, 5 strategies I embed all my plans for growth in to grow sustainably, do what matters to me, and ultimately have a better work-life balance.
Did you find these helpful? I’d love to know which of these you might try. If you want to let me know simply write to me at blaise@blaiseboulton.com and tell me!
