When it Comes to Personal Development Waiting for Tomorrow is the Wrong Approach
Manana(Spanish mon ya na) Iguana by Ann Whitford Paul was one of my favorite books to read to my kids. I enjoyed the ability to use some Spanish vocabulary and an accent even though most of the book was in English, it made them laugh as I fumbled over the Spanish words. But more than sharing the laughs together, I loved the lesson to be learned.
The story is about an Iguana who wants to throw a party, but she knows it will be a lot of work to prepare for the fiesta. So she inquires of a few of her friends if they could help with the preparations before attending the party. No matter which friend (tortoise, hare or snake) or which task (send invitations, stuff pinata, cook), the response is always the same I am not right for the job, but as the snake always says, if I grow arms tonight, I will help manana (tomorrow) Iguana.
Well the Iguana remains undeterred by the lack of help and gets through the tasks and arrives at the day of the party and… the rest of the story is below.
So What?
This is how many of us approach personal development. We are excited at the potential value it will add to our lives but we are too busy to take action today. Personal development is always something for tomorrow.
If you are waiting for some mystical tomorrow that is free from distractions where you have nothing to do but develop yourself, maybe even for when you magically grow arms, tomorrow will never arrive. Instead of achieving something greater for yourself you will always be stuck waiting for tomorrow. For many professionals, this cycle has been in play forever.
We each have our own forms of distraction and they can change by the day but most distractions fall into categories things that are
Urgent but not important
Someone else’s priority
An immediate payoff
Just a distraction to numb us from what is on our minds
Regardless of your distraction, in order to achieve your long-term goals, you must take control of your destiny and make development a priority today.
Did Manana arrive (the rest of the story)
In the story the Iguana reaches the goal of having a party but those friends who didn’t put in the effort to help, also didn’t enjoy the payoff from the work. They did not get to attend the party. Instead of reaping the reward of hard work like the Iguana, they were rewarded for doing nothing with nothing.
How to develop yourself?
The advice I can give you is follow the Iguana, but don’t wait for manana. The Iguana had a goal (a party), had a plan (the tasks), and didn’t let distractions or disappointments get in her way. She just made the time to put in the work. Try this approach out
Set a personal development goal. At the end of the next three months I want to be more/different/better in this way
Have a list of actions you can take to work towards the goal. In order to be more/different/better at my goal, I need to do these things?
Do the things. I will do my development action <at this time>, in <this place>, for <this long>.
And when you succeed throw yourself a party
Despite the hard work, the party was worth it for the Iguana. The dividends achieved by investing in yourself will be worth it for you too, but it is better than that. Your investment in yourself will also add value to the lives of your colleagues, your team and your family. All of whom benefit when you are a better version of yourself when manana (tomorrow) arrives.