Growth is the fifth human need and is considered a spiritual need. Not from a religious aspect, but from a fulfillment aspect. Tony Robbins has a simple saying “Progress equals Happiness”. When we are growing or making progress we have a sense of fulfillment. When we are stagnant and feel like we are not moving forward we have feelings of frustration and we may feel like our life has no meaning.

Growth is also a law of nature. In nature all living things are either growing or dying. Jim Rohn asks the question “How tall will a tree grow?” The answer is as tall as it can. It will shoot it’s roots down as deep as it can, it will stretch it’s branches out as far as it can. If it’s an apple tree it will bear as much fruit as it can. It will live as long as it can, it’ll never stop trying to grow. As humans we have the dignity of choice.

~ As much as we can or as little as we can, it's our choice. ~

It’s our choice to read as much as we can, learn as much as we can, feed our body as well as we can, keep our bodies as strong as we can, help as many people as we can, earn as much as we can, be the best employee as we can, be the best parent, brother, sister, son, daughter as we can and to live our life to the fullest we possibly can. The only question is do we have the discipline to do it. A tree doesn’t have that choice, we do.

The first half of the year is over. Sit down with a pad of paper and think about all of the things you’ve accomplished this year. Are you making progress this year, or are you living the same year you did last year. Remember if nothing changes, nothing changes. Break your life down into several areas. Write down your accomplishments, big and small. Find some things to feel good about. Then get ready to finish the year strong!