Growth. It's in our name, it's what we stand for, and it's what we strive for. The way that OutGrowth achieves transformational growth in its programming is through creating novel, immersive experiences and forging new intersections. But those pieces are just catalysts for the real change that happens internally. Experiences help us to generate new mental pathways that forever shift how we see the world. The real growth that takes place in people, teams and organizations is caused by a total shift in perspective, a new lens through which to view challenges and pathways, and a refreshed approach to tackling what "could be." Oftentimes, we think growth requires embracing the new, but in reality, real growth can also take place when we reframe the existing. Each of us has countless daily opportunities to look at our hardships, pain points and struggles through a new lens - one that will enable us to change our entire mindset, direction and approach, not just impacting our state of mind, but our decisions and futures. So this month, we discuss growth and embrace this concept through examining the power of reframing. As always, we remain dedicated to constantly evolving, and growing out in the world to realize our greatest potential, while leaving it better than how we found it. Happy New Year, and happy reading. Grow out with us. |
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OutGrowth Today Our Monthly Blogger Spotlight + OutGrowth's Top Tip for January The En Root Scoop On Reframing Growth Our Top Ted Talk, Podcast + Book |
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It had been less than a year in my position as a medical floor co-director when it abruptly ended with the closure of the floor on March 15 2020. Earlier that week the WHO had declared CoVid-19 to be a pandemic and in the US it had become a national emergency. For me, I didn’t have much time to think about the opportunities I had lost as I got caught up in the daily changing landscape at work to respond to CoVid-19. It’s hard to imagine growing in a time of uncertainty and inconsistency. If anything, people focus on resilience. If you speak to anyone who studies, teaches, or practices resilience, they will tell you that resilience is an ordinary practice that is exhibited under extraordinary circumstances. It is an astounding concept of graceful simplicity: the ordinary under extraordinary circumstances. A simple concept like this has strategies. And when there are strategies not only can you practice it—you can get better at it. But how do you grow from uncertainty? Most of the time people think of growth under the best of circumstances, in a space with nurturing and a wider sense of perspective. Mistakes are tolerable because they can be viewed as an opportunity to reflect rather than have painful or long-reaching consequences. As you grow, you may even have time to fix your mistakes. But this slips away when the world and your space in it has to shift due to things beyond your control. On the surface, growth is a matter of perspective. It’s hard to tell yourself about the ways you’ll grow in the middle of a crisis; but you’ve only lost the chance to grow if you don’t spend any time in thought and reflection. Rather than a matter of perspective, it is a matter of time and space, which can be hard to find everyday. To do so, I ask that you break it down. Take the luxury of a pause, a deep breath in and out, a moment to release your grip and reset. You can only focus on the present when under pressure. At the same time in that moment, growth is slower but doesn’t mean it isn’t happening—an ordinary event under extraordinary circumstances. |
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The elements of growth are learning new things, gaining experience, exposure to another definition of normal, and seeking out other people who are going in the direction you want to follow. When you have the pieces, how it all fits together can be up to you. In the past year and a half, I have encountered important messaging about self-care, that we are constantly learning how to be gentle with ourselves when we need to be. How we practice this applies in so many things, especially when we take the time to learn about the ways we grow. It is a delicate balance to push yourself when everything else pushes back at you. A nurse once told me during a moment of calm that there are things that matter to you and everything else outside of that is fluff. This is both true and a little more than that at the same time. We live the ordinary in extraordinary and there is always something that can grow from it when you make the effort to practice. Cecille Gumabon is a Physician Assistant with a passion for service learning and volunteerism. After graduating from NYU, she devoted a year to AmeriCorps in San Francisco before working in non-profits. She later returned to her home state of Maryland to pursue her career in medicine and has a professional background in project management and partnership building. |
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Linearly, I started my career as a corps member at Civic Works in East Baltimore, became the program manager at Baltimore Orchard Project, and then became the volunteer coordinator – managing large events and individual growth in our AmeriCorps Members. Next, I took on the food and farm programs in 2019. Cyclically, I am confronted with my whiteness – which projects me into opportunities while giving me a narrow perspective. I make mistakes, learn, and adjust. Many of us white people are afraid to make these mistakes – rightfully so. We don’t want to cause a scene, hurt others, or be embarrassed. But we are bound to make mistakes. When I’m not paying attention or asking the right questions, I put too much responsibility on my Black coworkers and AmeriCorps members to teach me or to speak for the “Black community” (is that even a useful term? There is so much individuality in this “community” that this term seems to erase). Sometimes we replace “Black” with “underserved," “vulnerable,” “blighted blocks” or even just “Baltimore neighbors.” We need to confront why these words are synonymous, in our social media, grant requests, and conversations with elected officials. I suggest we name our most glaring inequalities. When white people talk about race, it’s easy to get stuck in a “well that was the past” attitude, when we are very much in a racially-oppressive present time. We get stuck in our own insecurities and identities – which mostly is not helpful to further our social justice agendas. It’s much easier to point fingers at our historical wrongs instead of looking inward at our current perspectives. |
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White people, here’s a message for us: Face your own perspectives and try to change them. You will embarrass yourself and make mistakes, but if you want to see social change, start with yourself. Start a white allies affinity group at work or among friends where you can read, listen to podcasts and discuss. Take criticism about your allyship well – defensiveness is usually never helpful. Our collective learning provides the basis of how we manage and grow. Selfishly, learning more about racial justice is now pivotal to my career. I’m able to reach out for help, to coordinate across programs, and to grow our reliability. In the face of crisis – like COVID-19 – I can depend on our community and customers to tell us what they need and how, as a food-related non-profit, we can help. Learning more about yourself is awkward. I thought I would reach adulthood and “know it all” – an attitude that is notoriously off-putting. Of course, I was almost immediately proven wrong. Staying curious and taking time to reflect on my decisions is how I continue to grow. Gwen started as a corps member at Civic Works in 2015 and has worked there ever since. As the Food and Farm Associate Director, she oversees the urban farm – Real Food Farm – and their distribution projects to increase food access. Gwen was raised in Howard County, and her claim to fame is that her family used to own Greenfields Nursery in Roland Park, Baltimore. Gwen's AmeriCorps Members at Civic Works bring her joy and knowledge, and keep her going, especially when they bring jammed goodies in. |
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| | Monthly Blogger Spotlight "Trust in What Gives You Energy" by Jordan Goodman 'Growth is synonymous with life. I'm committed to locating stagnation and complacency. Even if I choose to extend myself some grace if immediate change feels overwhelming, I at least prefer to make this choice with awareness. I practice various mindfulness techniques, rely on social support, and engage in creative practices to cultivate and maintain a growth mindset.' Jordan Goodman, LCPC believes life improves when we become more in-rhythm with ourselves and our work. | | |
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| | OutGrowth's Top Tip On Reframing Growth: Look at Your Pain Points At OutGrowth, we always make the case that small moments and short-term experiences have the power to make big waves. Just like you can change your state of mind by spending 10 minutes in nature, you can also alter your way of thinking and commit to constant growth by making small shifts in your life. One of the ways to seek out growth daily is to take stock of your pain points - in your job, in your personal life, in your relationships. What's not working? What are your hesitations? Where are you dissatisfied? Reframing these elements as having possible solutions or opportunities for growth can do two things: 1. It allows us to stay committed to a growth mindset, where we are constantly capable of change, and 2. It helps us to set the stage for building forward. Now that we have articulated potential growth areas, we can actually start to do something about it! Start with what's not working, and begin to reframe: instead of failure or hardship, how can you start to view it as a new beginning? | | |
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'Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.' | | |
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'Join researcher and #1 New York Times best-selling author Brené Brown as she unpacks and explores the ideas, stories, experiences, books, films, and music that reflect the universal experiences of being human, from the bravest moments to the most brokenhearted.' | | |
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'In Designing Your Work Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can transform our present job and our experience of work by utilizing the designer mindsets: Curiosity. Reframing. Radical collaboration. Awareness. Bias to action. And, the new mindset, Storytelling, helps engage others in helping you find the best job for you.' | | |
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