Inside-Out Personal Growth

The Old Pan Man

Do you have an Inside-Out Personal Growth Plan? It’s an important step towards building a happy life.

This advice came from my mentor, a Trinidadian man affectionately known to his friends as the “Old Pan Man.” The Old Pan Man has spent his entire life using a short-handled sledgehammer to transform discarded, 55-gallon oil barrels into steel drum instruments, a.k.a. “pan.”

But, he didn’t say it exactly that way… What he said was:

“To build a happy life, you’ve gotta be willing to stretch.”

The “build a happy life” part is pretty clear, but the rest of his advice needs an explanation. You see, the first step in his pan building process is to “stretch” the steel barrelhead, by using a hammer, down into a bowl-like shape.

So, how does this apply to “build a happy life?”

The answer is that the Old Pan Man told me that I need to be willing to stretch. I need to embrace personal growth.

I love to watch the Old Pan Man stretch a barrel head. He begins by hammering in the barrel’s center, working his way outwards in concentric circles towards the barrel’s rim. It requires a lot of effort. But the metal stretches as he continues to hammer, becoming thinner, making it flexible and easier to work. Then he repeats the process until the bowl reaches the desired depth. When he is done, the expanded surface area allows more notes to be placed on the future steel drum instrument’s playing area.

Inside-Out Personal Growth Plan

Intentional personal growth starts on the inside and works its way out. Personal growth begins with a choice – an internal decision – to learn new skills, be exposed to new ideas, and to gain knowledge and experience.

All of these and more will expand your perception and understanding of the world around you, and lead to a more fulfilling and happy life.

But this can be overwhelming or even scary for many people. After all, we are really talking about the dreaded “C” word – Change. Change is something many people try to avoid. But if you truly want to build a happy life, you’ve gotta be willing to stretch. And that means opening your mind to new possibilities.

Intentional personal growth requires a lot of effort, especially at first. But after a while, your mind will become more flexible, and easier with which to work, (adaptable to change). Stretching will expand your “surface area,” enabling you to add more notes to your life, (knowledge, skills, experience, relationships, etc).

My personal experience

I dropped out of college after one and a half years. The reason? I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I certainly didn’t have a plan, let alone an Inside-Out Personal Growth Plan. All I knew was that I was unhappy. However, I did figure one thing out while in college – I had no business signing up as an engineering major!

I ended up working as a fast food restaurant manager for many years. While I did learn a lot about how to run a business, manage people, and interact with customers, I still wasn’t happy with my life.

After a lot of soul searching, I decided to go back to college as an accounting major. I set a goal to graduate and made a commitment to myself to do my absolute best in every class. And I did.

It wasn’t easy, especially at first. And it certainly wasn’t always fun. But when I scored a high grade on a test, and when I completed class after class, it was fulfilling. I truly earned that college degree – and it changed my life forever. It “stretched” me as a person.

It began on the inside and worked its way out. First, I chose to go back to college. I made the commitment to do the absolute best that I could do. I set the goal to graduate.

Then as I worked my way through the classes it made me more “flexible and easier with which to work”. My way of thinking and perceiving the world around me expanded. It “added new notes” to my life, new knowledge, skills, and experience. I gained a sense of self-confidence that was lacking before.

How to Do It

There are many ways that you can achieve Inside-Out Personal Growth. Going to college is only one of many options, (one of the most expensive options), out there. But there are many, many free and inexpensive ways to begin your Inside-Out Personal Growth strategy.

Pick up a library book, watch a documentary on NetFlix, go online to watch a TED Talks video, meet new people, travel to somewhere you’ve never been before. These last two strategies are limited due to the pandemic – but hopefully, it will be over soon).

You can also check out one of the many online educational platforms. I’ve taken some great classes on LinkedIn’s Lynda.com, Udemy, MasterClass, and through my college’s online continuing education program. Most colleges offer online continuing education programs in which anyone can enroll. More platforms are coming online every day as a result of the pandemic.

The most important step is simply to make an intentional choice to stretch. Be willing to learn new skills, be exposed to new ideas, gain knowledge and experience. If you do, it will expand your perception and understanding of the world around you, and lead to a more fulfilling and happy life.

No wrong notes,

Mike

I hope that you received something of value from this post. If so, check out the next article: “Map Out Your Plan.”

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