Speaker #0Welcome everybody to another episode of the Growth Gym Podcast, where growth is a journey and not a destination. I am your host, Chris Briggs, and thank you again for coming back to another episode. Hey, I need you to like, share, I need you to subscribe to our podcast so you can know when we have new episodes because we've got some great... episodes we have coming up in the near future. Today, we're going to talk about something people celebrate publicly, but they struggle with privately. And what happens after you accomplish the goal, after the degree, after the promotion, after the business grows, after the opportunity comes, after the door finally opens, the question comes, what's next? And I believe many of us, we wrestle with that because Many people spend years trying to arrive to somewhere and only to recognize once you have arrived, not to end up in after you have arrived to that place. It's only the beginning of another level. It was John C. Maxwell that says change is it's inevitable. Growth is optional. Growth does not stop because you achieve something. If anything, growth becomes even more important after success. And I look at myself, I have accomplished, grateful that I have graduated with my master's. And so I'm grateful for that. And the question that has been ringing out to me lately is, what's next? What's next for me? What do life look like for me in the next season? What does life look like? Now that I have accomplished a goal, now that I have accomplished what I've been working hard and what I've been really trying to achieve, what does it look like? So I want you to get your pen and paper out and make sure you get this to somebody so they can be with us and join us on this growth journey. The empty feeling nobody talks about. There's an empty feeling after you have accomplished finally your goal, you've been celebrated. People have congratulated you and the pressure is lifted. But eventually the excitement quiets down. And then comes the question, now what? Because a lot of people feel empty after achievements because they attach their identity to the accomplishment. I attach what I have accomplished to who I am. But goals were never. supposed to be defined. The goals are never supposed to define who you are. They are meant to develop you. So, hear this growth gem. Listen to this growth gem because this is going to help you. Success is not a parking lot. It's a launching pad. Did you catch that? Success is not a parking lot. It's a launching pad. I want to suggest to you Friends who are on this growth journey with us is that success is not a parking lot and don't turn a yield sign into a stop sign. Just because you have accomplished what you want to accomplish doesn't mean for you to stop. Never allow one accomplishment to become the ceiling of your growth. It's never meant for you to stop, but it's intended for you to do what Miles Monroe helps us to understand, to walk in purpose. Miles Monroe said the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without purpose. So purpose keeps moving even after the celebration ends. Because now, yes, I have accomplished, yes, my goals, my success. But then now what? Do I stop or do I keep going? Do I keep going based on my plans? Do I keep going on what I've worked hard for? Do I keep going or do I allow the success to cause me to become stagnated or come stuck? And so... I want to challenge you on this growth journey with us. Continue to walk in purpose, even after you have reached the success point. But what happens is, also, we can't live off yesterday's wins. One of the easiest traps, if you're not careful, is to fall into is becoming addicted to old victories. Yes, you have accomplished something. Yes, you have. You know, you have successfully defended your degree, or maybe you have paid off a bill. Maybe you have, whatever it may be, you always talk about old victories and not about new accomplishments. You keep replaying what you did instead of preparing for what's next. And never become stuck on yesterday. I'm not never telling you to never look back on what happened, never intended. I'm not telling you not to look back on yesterday, but I'm telling you that yesterday should be motivation to push you into tomorrow. Because healthy growth requires movement. Every season of your life, friends, demands a different version of you. You're trying to carry yesterday version into today and going to try to carry today version into tomorrow. When the reality is. That each season, each door requires a different you. The discipline that got you where you are may not sustain you where you're trying to go. Did y'all catch that? The discipline that got you here may not sustain you there. It may not sustain you where you're trying to go. So you can't take the same person into... a new place. If you stop growing, here there's growth, Jim, y'all, because if you stop growing after success, success will start shrinking you because comfort can quietly become the enemy of progress. It was Eric Thomas that says, when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful because hunger cannot disappear after one victory. Victory. You got to stay hungry. And I want to challenge you. You got to stay hungry in whatever season you may be in. You got to stay hungry for more. A man that doesn't prepare for more has said that he is satisfied with where he is. Yes, you may have accomplished it. Yes, I have accomplished my I've obtained my my master's degree. Am I satisfied? No. Because I know there's more for me. And you have to understand that there's more for you. Do you really believe that this is it? Do you believe that it's over? And I think the reason why you keep trying to live off of yesterday wins because you're failing to ask better questions. Because after you accomplish something major, don't only ask yourself, what do I want next? You ask, who do I need to become next? The change, you got to change your perspective completely because growth is not just about gaining things. It's about becoming someone. And maybe your next level requires more patience, more wisdom. more emotional maturity, or more discipline. So you got to ask better questions, not about so much what's next. But what part do I play in what's next or what requires what requirements are needed and necessary for what's next? Because your next season, write this growth gem down, because your next season will require a stronger version of you, not just a more successful version of you. Did you catch that? Your next season will require a stronger version of you. not just a more successful version of you. Because success can open doors, but it's character that keeps the door open. So now you are in a good place. Now you have accomplished those things that you've been wanting to accomplish. Yes, you are achieving some of those things you want to achieve, but the question is, is my character in place? Am I the person I need to be? Is my character in line? So that means what I have to do then, I got to make sure I give myself permission to reset. Because sometimes after accomplishing a goal, the best thing you can do is pause long enough to reflect. Not to quit, not to become lazy, but to reflect. Because you got to learn how to celebrate what you have gone through. Because too many people rush to their next season, next assignment without healing from the last progress or process. You know what I'm saying? Many times we rush in and you don't let that thing settle. And so I use myself for an example. I could start on my doctoral program in the summer. I could do that. But I'm taking June, July, and August to rest, reflect, and reset. I'm taking that time to reflect over the process. I'm taking time to rest, giving my mind time to reset, giving my mind time to rest, not per se thinking about schooling and making sure the assignment's done and making sure this is done. I'm giving myself time. And sometimes you have to do that. I'm not rushing into it. Yes, me starting in the summer is going to cut off a semester, going to give me some extra time. It's going to cut off some time so I will finish sooner. But not all the time is that the best because what profit me to finish early, but I hadn't taken time to rest. So I'm... I've accomplished what I want to accomplish, but I'm tired. I'm exhausted and I can't enjoy it. So here's this growth gym. You don't have to rush into the next season to prove you're still valuable. I don't have to rush to prove a point to anybody. Oh, I'm macho, macho. Oh, I could do this. I could do that. No, I don't have a point to prove. And you don't have a point to prove to nobody. You don't have to prove anything to nobody. Rest doesn't mean that you're weak. Reflection is not that you are a failure. Every pause can produce clarity. You need to reflect on, okay, what is it that I could have done different? What is it that I need to modify? What is it that I need to fix? Oprah Winfrey says the biggest adventure you could take is to live the life. of your dreams, but dreams evolved as growth. So you got to give yourself permission to reset. Don't be in a hurry. I know you got a timeline. And can I say something? I'm very strict on timelines because I have a goal. I'm planning to have my doctoral degree by the time I'm 40. That's my timeline. And even in my undergrad, I had to sit a whole semester out. And y'all, you just don't even know what that did to me mentally. Sitting a whole semester, I'm like, man, I'm behind schedule. I'm behind time. I'm supposed to be doing this and doing that. And guess what? When I learned how to pause, take time to reset and rest, not knowing that same semester that I had to sit out on, my father had passed that year. Right? So my father had passed, and I never stopped to take time. I'm steady going to school, steady trying to be a pastor, be a husband, be a father. And so that time that I set out for that semester gave me time to reflect, to rest. So I'm taking time. So don't, I'm saying to you, and I want to encourage you who are listening, just because you're not meeting your timeline doesn't mean you're behind schedule. Just because you feel like you're not meeting the timeline that you have created in your head, the timeline you feel like that you're supposed, I'm supposed to be doing this and doing that during this time. doesn't mean that you're behind schedule. It does not mean that. It means that you are right on schedule. So don't beat up on yourself. Don't be mad at yourself. Don't be mad at yourself because you're not in a place where you think you need to be. All right? That's why I want to help you. After you have accomplished your goals, after you have recently accomplished something, I want you to celebrate the season that you survived. I need you to celebrate what you have accomplished, but I need you to also make preparation for greater. Don't become satisfied with what you just have accomplished. There is so much more. There's greater for you. There's a greater impact. There's greater wisdom, greater purpose for you. There is greater for you. But you will never be the recipient of greater if you're always content with just enough. Your life should not only be measured by what you accomplish, but by who you are become, who you have become in the process. It's always greater for you. And there may be somebody who's saying, hey, I hadn't reached the place. I hadn't reached the finish line yet. Can I tell you? keep going. Yes, yes, you may have had some detours because the road of life is always under construction. There's always detours. There's always a delay. There's always some work going on on the road of life. But at the same time, yes, you may not be where you wanted to be, but guess what? You're on the right path. And when the time is right, It's going to come. When the time is right, nobody can take it away from you. Can't nobody deny you of it. Can't nobody do anything about when your time has come. So, y'all, this episode, if it has helped you, please share it with somebody. Because I need to understand, you can celebrate the last victory without selling in there. There's still more for you. Always remember that there's still more for you. All right. Hey, I hope this has been a great episode for you. Share this with somebody, family and friends. Thank you for being with us on this growth journey. And remember, growth is a journey and not a destination. This has been your host, Chris Briggs. Have a wonderful day.
