Growing either yourself or others is difficult for a many reasons. First, you have to pay attention for opportunities to improve. Second, you have to be willing to acknowledge when something truly needs to change. Third, you must put together a plan which will effectively result in improvement. Fourth, you need to act on the plan. Fifth and finally, you need to evaluate if you’ve succeeded or if a new plan is necessary.

Any and all of these steps can prove fatal to the effort to grow. The biggest and first challenge is developing the courage to change. Change is inherently both a destructive and creative force. An existing state must cease and a new one begin for growth to occur. People naturally fear change, but it is necessary to make better lives for ourselves. Courage is acting on what is right in spite of fear.