0 G.R.O.W.

I was speaking with my mum the other day and she was telling me about an Olympic athlete who had visited her workplace to speak to the children (as she is a teacher). He is visiting many different schools up and down the country and is trying to encourage hard work so that they can do the best they can. During the speech that he gave he mentioned a concept that I found interesting, it was called the G.R.O.W. concept. It is an acronym that is supposed to help motivate not just children, but people of all ages and is something that I find really quite interesting.
G.R.O.W. is a four-stage concept that will help you put into perspective where you are now and where you would like to be. It really helps in putting you in the know with what you are doing and in which direction you are heading.

The G.R.O.W. Concept

G

'G' is the first letter of the acronym  and stands for 'goal'. In this stage you need to realise what your goal is and where you would like to be in the future. If you don't know what your goal is at the moment or haven't given it much thought, take a few moments to decide what it is. It doesn't have to be something too specific if you can't think, a general goal is okay too, although having a specific goal will give you a clearer guide to where you are heading. What are your ambitions?, what do you want to do with your life?, what would you like to achieve? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself.

I've said it before in many different posts that I have written, having a goal will enable you to set your sights on something. It will set the standard for what you are wanting and gives you something to strive for. It will help motivate and push you forward. For example: If you were taking a test and you didn't have a goal, then you would just hope for a good result. However, if you have a goal to get an 'A' or top marks, then that would be something you would be aiming for, and in preparations leading up to the exam - would drive you forward to make sure you do everything you can to get that result. Of course you would still hope for good results, but you will have made sure that you have given yourself the best chance to get those results - because it is your goal.

R

Once you have decided on your goal, the next step in this process is to be real with yourself and ask what is the 'reality'? What is your life like at the moment and are you anywhere near to, or on the road to, reaching your goal? Definitely do NOT brush past this step. Whilst it may seem trivial, the actuality is that this is very important to have a grasp of. If you say that everything is fine and it actually isn't then chances are that you aren't going to reach your goal or you will but at a much later point in time than is necessary. For example: going back to the example I used a minute ago about wanting to get good grades. If I was wanting to get an 'A' or whatever, and I did an assessment on my current situation and said everything was fine, when in actuality I don't revise, I don't work as hard as I could, I skip over the bits I find hard, then I'm kidding myself and even though I might have the goal of getting top marks - in reality it doesn't look like I'm going to achieve them.

That's what this point is about, being honest about your current state and giving yourself some home truths that yes you aren't really doing much and you are wasting a lot of time. It is an important step that you need to go through if you want to make an improvement.
If you do this self-assessment and the reality is that everything is going well at the moment and everything is heading in the right direction, then that's great news. However, if you are using this concept and have just set in place a goal, then there's a high chance that the reality of your situation could be better.

O

The third step in the G.R.O.W. concept is to now decide what are your 'options'? Now that you have a goal that you would like to achieve and have acknowledged the reality of your current situation, you now need to go through your options and decide what the best plan of action is. You may have a number of options that you can choose from, but you will need to pick one you are going to stick with.
Going back once again to the example of the person who wants to get top marks in a test, they have many options. Revision is an option, studying with the help of someone may be an option, taking extra classes or doing extra work could be another option, etc.
Whatever you decide to pursue, the options are there - they just need you to notice them.

W

The last letter of the G.R.O.W. acronym is 'w', and it stands for 'will'. What 'will' you do? Along with everything else: having a goal; knowing your situation; and knowing your options, having the will to do what you intend is especially important. It's all good knowing where you want to be and knowing how you are going to get there, but without the willpower to make sure it happens, how will it happen?

Getting to where we want is not always easy, in fact it normally seems far from easy but as is life. Often people look to those who have become successful and in their mind somehow think that they got to where they are magically and that they haven't really put in that much work. In reality however, this is the opposite. People who have got to where they want is because they have worked hard to get there and have remained focused on their goal. Yes, I will admit that not everyone who has got to where they want has worked hard, but on the whole the vast majority have.