5 signs that your personal growth and development has stopped and how to fix it

When you fall in love with the process of personal development, you become more intrinsically motivated to show up and do the work and as a people, we are constantly growing. Even when our bodies have stopped, our minds, personalities and general personal growth are developing all the time. Yet sometimes, this growth can ground to a halt and we can find ourselves feeling lost and unsure.

If you feel that your personal growth may be struggling, see how you can fix it below.

1. You Feel Stuck

Are you feeling stuck in life and as though you are struggling to get the results you want? This may be a sign that you are not growing as a person. Whether you feel as though you are stuck in a job, a relationship, or any other circumstance, it’s a feeling that you have lost control.

Solution:

Take some time to really figure out what it is that is making you feel stuck. If your job feels restrictive, consider other career paths, or how you could improve your current position. If a relationship is making you feel stuck, consider talking to your partner about how you feel and how you can move away from the behaviours you are struggling with.

2. You Are Avoiding Responsibilities

We can often feel stuck in a situation that we do not want to deal with, and we avoid the solution to the problem because it may be more difficult than the situation itself.

Solution:

Take responsibility for what you need to do. If you have a large work load, make a list and begin to work through it slowly until you complete the task that is making you feel stuck. If there are issues in a relationship, sit down and just have the difficult conversation. Be respectful and listen to the other person, then calmly explain your perspective. Once you have an understanding of each other, you will be better equipped to move forward toward a solution to suit both of you.

3. You Feel Confused but Don’t Know What about

As humans, we like to be certain, so confusion can rattle us. We spend a lot of time trying to avoid it as much as possible. If you feel as though you are confused but cannot pinpoint the exact reason why, you may be struggling to utilise certain personality strengths that you have not yet had the growth to use.

Solution:

Take control of other areas of your life. Control makes the uncertainties feel much less important, as we feel as though we can choose what happens next. Take responsibility for what you need to, and take responsibility for the decisions you make. This responsibility gives us the control we need to eradicate the uncertain feelings.

4. Your Emotional Responses Are Not As Stable

Personal growth helps us to mediate and manage our emotions. If we are struggling internally, our emotional responses tend to be much stronger and potentially more violent. This can be detrimental in some situations and make us feel less in control of ourselves.

Solution:

Take the time you need to manage areas of your life that you feel you do not have control. If it is financial worries, start to keep track of expenses and make a budget. If it is a large workload, make a list of smaller tasks to undertake one by one until the larger task is done.

Reducing the stresses in other areas of life can make us much more capable of managing and mediating our emotions so that we can react appropriately when the time comes.

5. You Feel As Though You Don’t Know Yourself

A large part of personal growth is really getting to know yourself as a person, what affects you and what influences your responses. If you feel as though you are constantly asking yourself the ‘Who am I?’ question, then your personal growth may be suffering, and even stopped.

Solution:

Get to know yourself the way you would another person. Find out the activities you enjoy and do them, whether it be art, music, or writing. Learning your own personality traits and becoming comfortable with yourself is a huge step for personal growth, and will give you personal strength and resilience for the future. We all need to take the time to grow as people, and when life gets in the way, it is important to come back to who we are as people. Pushing our personal growth allows us to develop better as people, and be more in control of our emotions, reactions, and our lives in general.