Life lessons for a young colt
Watching a young colt is a lot like watching a middle schooler. They wobble around on skinny legs, not quite sure of their body and the space around it. They can be socially awkward as well–who doesn’t remember those years with a little cringe? While humans can be quite complex in how the lessons are learned, within a herd of horses, it’s usually a swift kick to let the little one know he’s out of line. Eventually the young horse learns the way of the world to become an amicable member of the herd.
From gangly legs to a self-aware adult
Unlike that young colt, as we grow as humans, we have the opportunity for another level of growth: self-awareness. One of the critical pieces of personal growth is having a realistic sense of who you are. But how does one develop that? It’s a lot of hard work that involves being vulnerable and honest with yourself and others around you. Dang, don’t you wish we could instead just eat hay and poop wherever we want? That might have its perks, but there are definitely some limitations with that plan.
- Identify emotions and learn to manage them- People who are self-aware are conscious of how their words and actions influence others. When you manage your own words or actions, it doesn’t mean that you’re being false. Rather, it shows that you care about other people enough not to say or do something that might affect them in a negative way.
- Accurate self-perception- Question your assumptions about yourself and ask for honest feedback from those who you trust.
- Know your strengths and weaknesses and understand the impact of both of those on others- Self-confidence comes from knowing where your strengths lie, as well as knowing what weakness you could improve.
- Look in the mirror- Observe yourself from the outside and imagine what is it like to interact with you?
Personal growth priority
If you do anything in the area of personal growth, let developing your self-awareness be #1. The people most of us enjoy being around are often the ones with the more developed self-awareness. This work will help you be a better leader, friend, partner, family member or parent. Because you can’t stay the cute colt in the herd forever!
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