Grow in the Right Direction

When I was 3, I grew taller.
When I was 13, I grew smarter.
When I was 23, I grew wider.
And now, at 33, I am growing upward.

Growing is important. We have to grow to reach what we want. We have to grow to achieve dreams in life. Simply put, we all grow because we do. Whether it be in age, size or intellect, we all grow. HOW we grow, though, is important. Are you growing in the right direction? Are you doing all you can to grow upward? It's a tough road, but it can be done. I'm trying my best every day to grow and I wanted to share how I've managed it with you. I don't want to grow wider anymore. I want to grow upward. And I'm not going to stop growing upward until I'm above the cloud. How I'm doing this is through a simple statement:

Growing is a matter of identifying the Big Picture and doing the right thing, at the right time, every time.

I believe that there is always a bigger picture. In comparison, it's in the movies, when you see the couple kissing at the very end. The scene moves out and you see the city, then the state, then the country and we end up looking at the galaxy. That's the Big Picture theory. While you may feel the world is either against, of for, you, there is something much larger at scale based upon each action. This is how I see it. I believe that everything I do can have an effect somewhere to change fate. Let's look more at this Big Picture.

Looking at your life in the Big Picture is a great way to measure your growth as an individual and as someone that is improving life. Note: I didn't say "your" to be exclusive. I use it to put myself back into place and realize that this journey that I'm on is more than "just me." I can't "woe is me" anymore, because there's something bigger than that. The Big Picture shows me that growing is more than just me, it's growing for my community, growing for my culture, growing for my lifestyle and growing for my cause.

It took me a while to realize that I make impact in the Big Picture. I do things and it's going to affect something, or someone else. Whether it be taking a second to open a door with someone that has their hands full, or whether it be me taking time out of my month to go to the food shelter and volunteer to help with paperwork, something I do is having an effect on someone else. I'm chose to make it positive. And with that, I'm growing upward. In the Big Picture, the person with their hands full is going to have a better day because they didn't have to put anything down to open the door. And the food shelter isn't going to have to worry about extra paperwork. They can focus on the "food" aspect of it because I'm helping. That's growth to me. That's doing a little more. I think I'm trying my best to do this every day by doing something more than I did the day before. Giving a little more. Pushing a little harder to make this day even better. And now, I'm adding wellness to it.

I'm starting to work out now an seeing how I can add this to my growth. Each time I do something to improve my health, I'm helping the Big Picture. I'm getting a chance to not only help ME, but I'm also assisting my family when they ask how I'm doing it, I'm helping my budget by not having to buy bigger clothes every other month. And I'm helping my friends who are also of size. They can see me and know that it can be done. And that it's not difficult to begin growing in the right direction. I'm even starting to combine the Big Picture with my wellness. If there is a walk/run/dash that I can do, I will do it to not only get some time in to work out, but also to support a good cause. It's the Big Picture. It's doing good for me, while doing good for you and doing good for them.

I count everything I do as an accomplishment. And it's helping me smile everyday and count everything as a blessing and as an opportunity to help others. People don't reach their goals by going backwards. People reach their goals by going forward. They approach their goals by GROWING. So count everything that you are doing to improve your life, someones life or the life of countless others. There's more than you think. You're growing more by the second. Let's all share this time to improve wellness and helping in the Big Picture. Let's all grow upward.

Your Homework: Divide a piece of paper and into 4 quadrants. Take your age and divide it roughly into 3. For 3 of the 4 quadrants, list your ages based upon the division you made. In example, if you're 39, you'll have 1-13, 14-27, 28-39. Label the last one as NOW.

In each quadrant, list accomplishments that you've done in those ages. Ways that you've grown. It could be graduation, motherhood, moved out, got married, ran a race. Lost a pound. Walked a mile. Anything you feel is an accomplishment or achievement of greatness. A growth upward.

In the NOW quadrant, write new accomplishments that you do each day. Keep this paper on your fridge, office computer or somewhere you'll see everyday. Update every time you do something helping the Big Picture. Keep track of your accomplishments. And watch them... GROW!

You'll suddenly see how through your healthy living and philanthropy, you are so much stronger and well-balanced. We'll notice that each day, you're affecting the big picture, and you're growing. You're growing upward. You're helping others and yourself more than you've ever imagined. You're going to see that in the picture, you have an impact to your own self-actualization AND your world. 

How have you grown today? I'd love to hear! Feel free to e-mail me, message me or anything. You know I'm always here for you if you need an ear, shoulder or just a big ole' hug. Love you all!

Thanks for reading! I’ll leave you with a few extras:

• A Jase Quote: “No one ever learned from not trying."

• Jase’s Song for the Day: “I am Changing" by Jennifer Hudson