Growth.

A big word, a bold and noble ambition, something we often demand of ourselves and others. But what is it actually in today’s context?

With spring coming up next week (indeed, is it September 2022 already?) Mother Nature gives us a gentle nudge, a heads-up of sorts, that it’s time for renewal, new things, beginnings, green shoots. But what may pertain to the birds and the bees and the trees may or may not apply to us. It’s really our choice how we choose to respond to this little reminder of fresh opportunity.

Having led large organisations for more than two decades, the word “growth” may have greater relevance in specific areas. In my case, career growth and bottom-line growth. 

How are we growing our people’s careers and how are we growing our company and that of our clients who hire us to help them grow in topline, market share and brand equity? And all of this is good, right and well. As it should be. Sharp focus areas. Measurable.

But how much time and attention do we dedicate to our other areas of Growth? Personal ones. Growth in new ideas, behaviours, exercise and fitness, the understanding and calming of our hearts and heads, exploring new places, faces, adventures and experiences? Too little, I imagine.

Life and modern technology, brilliant, efficient and enabling as it may be, has also affected our lives negatively. It has sped things up, fed us more information than we need or want, distracted us from the moment and the simplicity of being in it. Consciously.

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Here but not here

People around us are often with us physically, but not mentally, nor emotionally. We see it in our kids and colleagues as they sit at the table glued to their phones. I often ask them, “are you expecting a call from Barack Obama?”

But it’s not their fault. It’s now societal and the slow, deliberate and steady hand that guides us away from the moment into one of distraction. A lot of it is chemical. The stuff of neuroscience. The brain craving a dopamine fix, and other mood hormones, delivered via social media. Likes. Comments. Shares. Engagement.

That pot of gold at the end of all our rainbows 

The adrenalin rush delivered by gaming that has people glued to their screens, the only parts of their bodies moving are their fingers on the controller, which vibrates in their hands and gives them a sense they are on the field playing that soccer match, or driving that car in a getaway or combing a deserted building looking for a terrorist, while they just sit on their bed or couch mindlessly slurping a drink.

And none of this is by coincidence either. Multibillion-dollar companies spend absolute fortunes in understanding this and thereby actively driving addiction. It’s no different to the fixes we get from sugar or salt as it lands on our taste buds. But is this good, bad or simply the way of the world?

Humans have never had more stuff. Homes, access to medicine, education, travel and connection. And yet we often see those posts lamenting simpler times. And I’m not proposing that. I’m thinking of more meaningful times. With ourselves and others. The internal and external conversations that matter. That help us Grow.

And Growth for me might not be the same as for someone in my family, or my friends or colleagues. With the deluge of pop psychology books and motivational speakers determining what “success” looks like, we may often be dragged into an unhappy place of judgement, for ourselves and others, to stop listening to our inner voice and apply someone else’s scorecard to our lives. Success measured in zeros on a bank statement, success measured in percentages on a graph, success measured in waist size, or even the confounded prompts from smart watches to “get moving”. In a promotion or an award.

And anyone who knows me, knows that I am not innocent of any of these things, nor not motivated or driven by achievement, but this spring my promise to myself is to listen more to my inner voice for Growth. 

This is my South Africa. This is my home. This is a place worth fighting for

The stuff that matters in the short term and the long run. The stuff that nourishes the soul. The joy of being in a moment, without distraction, and appreciating it.

My Growth will come from creating more time. For me and those I care about. At home and at work. Less stuff vying for my time and attention and me determining how I use my time. Today, so often “the tail wags the dog”. 

My ambition is to focus more on how this particular dog will wag his tail more. 

A personal journey you may or may not wish to contemplate yourself this spring? DM