Laws 10-12

We are continuing our study of John Maxwell’s The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by looking at laws 10-12 today. If you missed last week’s article, check out laws 7-9 in the previous post.  If you did catch it, how are you doing with incorporating your new daily changes that will lead to growth?

The set of laws we are examining today include:

10. The Law of the Rubber Band

11. The Law of Trade-offs

12. The Law of Curiosity

The Law of the Rubber Band: Growth stops when you lose the tension between where you are and where you could be

The truth is few people want to stretch. It takes effort and is uncomfortable to maintain. However, settling for the status quo ultimately leads to dissatisfaction and the sooner a person learns this lesson, the better.

Some lessons from Maxwell about stretching include:

• Stretching always starts from the inside out
• Stretching always requires change
• Stretching always sets you apart from others
• Stretching can become a lifestyle
• Stretching gives you a shot at significance

As you read this, are there areas that come to your mind where you know you need to stretch? Are you ready to stretch, my friend?

The Law of Trade-offs: You have to give up to grow up

Every choice we make costs us something. Maturity comes when we learn to make the right choices because we know the trade-off is worth it. Maxwell has this to say about trade-offs:

• Trade-offs are available to us throughout life
• We must learn to see trade-offs as opportunities for growth
• Trade-offs force us to make difficult personal changes
• The loss of a trade-off is usually felt long before the gain
• Most trade-offs can be made at any time – changing a habit for instance
• A few trade-offs come only once
• The higher you climb, the tougher the trade-offs
• Trade-offs never leave us the same
• Some trade-offs are never worth the price

Trade-offs worth making:

• Give up financial security today for potential tomorrow
• Give up immediate gratification for personal growth
• Give up the fast life for the good life – living and doing where you belong
• Give up security for significance – making a difference for others
• Give up addition for multiplication

The Law of Curiosity:  Growth is stimulated by asking WHY?

Asking Why? needs to be your favorite question, according to Maxwell. He gives some pointers on how to cultivate curiosity:

• Believe you can be curious
• Have a beginner’s mind-set
• Spend time with other curious people
• Learn something new everyday
• Partake in the fruit of failure
• Stop looking for the right answer
• Get over yourself- don’t take life too seriously
• Get out of the box
• Enjoy your life

How would you rate your curiosity level? What things from the list can you challenge yourself to start doing today?

As we conclude laws 10-12, think about how you can apply some change in your daily life from each of these laws.

Join me next time as we conclude our study of Maxwell’s laws by examining laws 13-15: The Law of Modeling, The Law of Expansion and The Law of Contribution.

-Jan Jones

Check out John Maxwell’s video on The Law of the Rubber Band: