Maintenance is a Must for Growth

Maintenance is a state of being, a lifestyle of continuity and consistency. When you maintain something you provide for it for life or for the duration of its existence. We see the impact of poor maintenance as noticeable deterioration, regression or a failure to withstand subsequent tests. What lessons can we consider, and apply to our lives, from the principle of maintenance? The first thing I hope you will accept is that there is no going around the law of maintenance, if you truly desire to grow and become a better version of yourself. 

Maintenance is applicable to any and every aspect of life and it is one of the non-negotiable laws of the school of growth, success and excellence. It applies to our emotional, social, intellectual, occupational, spiritual, environmental, financial and physical realms of existence. Can you imagine the wisdom, or lack there of, in undermining the foundation of a structure and simultaneously adding levels on top of it? It would be no surprise when that structure eventually crumbles or droops under a pressure it is not prepared to withstand. All the contributors to our past success form a platform to experience more growth and remain excellent at what we do.

Maintenance precedes our next level of ‘sound growth’ and it prepares us to exceed and accelerate. Sound growth is, the realization of more; an add-on to what we have already achieved and attained. The only way to experience true margins in our lives, or to at least keep the successes we have attained, is through a SMART maintenance programme. It is one thing to make initial changes for the better, but sticking to the new level is just as important if we want to sustain that path of growth and progress. 

 Take a look at your life and consider what happens when you do not keep up with a habit you know to be beneficial and essential to your well being. Though we tend to rationalize and put up a brave face on the outside, on the inside we suffer from cognitive dissonance and find ourselves  in states of unhappiness and disappointment with our revised lifestyle or outcomes. 

Growth and success are not destinations, but instead are part of a lifestyle; a way of being; how you live habitually. This lifestyle factors in, what you do most of the time, how you speak, how you think, the way you behave, your mindset, and alignment with your personal values. Your NOW habits tell you what your current maintenance plan consists of.  

The good news is that you can find your door to change and restoration, where you last left it. The not so good news is that if you change nothing then nothing will change. You can’t adjust the past, but you can return to what you know to be true and change the trajectory of your future outcomes.  

The onus is now on you to be decisive about what direction you want to continue going in and to be dedicated to the behaviours and habits that will lead you in that direction.  To retain it, you have to maintain it!

I encourage you to make intentionality your companion as you revisit your maintenance strategy and soar towards excellence and greatness.