When I look at my personal growth journey, it’s really easy to consider it from where I am today…this very moment. For example, one of my personal growth goals this year is in the area of writing. I’ve set my goal, mapped out a plan to reach it, and I’ve started moving forward. That’s how we look at most of our growth–here’s where I’m at, here’s where I want to go, now let’s get started.
Authors Dan Sullivan and Catherine Nomura suggest another approach. They encourage us to ask ourselves:
“If I were sitting here three years from today, looking back on today, what would have to have happened in that time for me to be happy with my progress?”
This is a future-focused question. In their book, The Laws of Lifetime Growth, Sullivan and Nomura call it “The R-Factor Question [from their Strategic Coach Program], where R stands for relationship. In this case, it’s helping you to establish your relationship with your own bigger future.”
So how would you answer the question? Even if you change the time frame–3 years, 1 year, 6 months–the future-focused question provides valuable perspective on your personal growth.
