There are four areas of life physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. Real sustainable fulfilling success comes from having all four areas alive, vibrant and integrated. To talk about spiritual growth and how it increases success, we first have to define it. Simply stated, spiritual growth is an individual’s journey with developing an ongoing, deepening, direct connection to the higher part of themselves. Other terms would be soul essence, the God in you, higher knowing or wisdom. I’m sure we can all think of a few.
Spiritual growth cannot be easily achieved with or through any belief system, job, person or situation that is controlling or negative. Comparing a situation that is expansive and constructive to one that is constrictive and destructive easily shows the difference it makes to our mental and physical health, and thus our spiritual wellbeing.

Reason 1: Viewpoint
Our viewpoints, belief systems, or lenses are what make our lives the way they are. Michael F. Kay in a Psychology Today article had this to say: “The fact is, we see the world through our own lenses as well. But rarely do we see more than our mind will allow us -- our brain has fixed our lenses only to pick up the familiar and the comfortable.” As we know, staying in our comfort zones usually keeps us repeating the same patterns. What we don’t know that we don’t know equals success and this is always outside of our comfort zone. Spiritual growth adds a positive, optimistic new lens through which to view the world. The more new opportunities and experiences we gain, the more lenses or viewpoints we have, thus more success.

Reason 2: Introspection
Confusion and a lack of clarity are one of society’s biggest challenges. The list of doubts and difficult choices is endless, from dating to careers to even day-to-day situations. Developing a habit of introspection, allowing the time to sort through different stressors and what simply is not working allows us to uncover or strengthen our truth. How often are you swayed by another person’s viewpoint or vice versa? Success and strength comes when a person knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what they want to accomplish, where they stand on something and that they are able to stay on track. Spiritual growth is an internal journey. It is about deepening connections and the first step is looking inward. “An unexamined life is not worth living" -Socrates. Personally, I find as little as fifteen minutes a day spent in silence allows my mental hamster on a wheel to make sense out of situations and feelings that I would not have understood otherwise.

Reason 3: Well-being
Wikipedia’s definition: “Well-being or welfare is a general term for the condition of an individual or group; for example their social, economic, psychological, spiritual or medical state; high well-being means that, in some sense, the individual or group's experience is positive, while low well-being is associated with negative happenings.” The more we increase our well-being, the better the quality of our lives. Spiritual health directly affects every other part of your happiness and health, and by giving time to your spiritual side your life will change in every way.

Reason 4: Power
There are two sources of power; the first being external, the second being internal.
External motivation may come in the form of a deadline at work that has been imposed upon you, with no personal reward or connection. The only reward being something ticked off on the task list, job security, a sense of having done the best you can, or a paycheck. So many of us go through our lives longing for something external to give us happiness or passion. We wait, dream, take courses, search and are usually disappointed. As we know, retail therapy has a very short gratification phase. External motivation is either reactive or something we generate ourselves. This form of motivation is usually short-lived and fades easily, leaving nothing but the desire to find it or something like it again. External motivation in balance can, in some ways, be a necessary part of our culture.
The second source is internal or what I like to call empowerment. This motivation tends to be very powerful and when an individual is connected to their “soul’s truth” they can be unstoppable and self-assured. The journey into this type of knowing and connection is best done by working on your spiritual self. When a person is, so to speak, going at mach 5 speed through life, with constant stress, how can they truly appreciate the smaller things? While the thrill of the fast lane is seductive, there is rarely a chance to enjoy the subtle parts of life. The knowledge and power we are looking for and the recognition of it is heard in the stillness.

Reason 5: Community
Our lives are always moving faster and faster in a more detached way due to multitasking, the cost of living, technology, and the pace at which we change jobs, relationships and homes. It makes it increasingly difficult to feel a sense of community. What used to be a naturally evolving life experience is now something that most of us need to intentionally seek out and invest in. My own definition of community would be ‘a group of like minded individuals positively supporting each other and sometimes toward common goals’. True spiritual growth is always about becoming a better, more compassionate, successful person. By connecting with people on the same path we make our lives,and the lives of everyone around us a bit easier.

Author's Bio: 

Patrick Hercus is a Power Skills Consciousness Coach with over 20,000 one on one client hours. To transform your life, from struggle to success and fulfillment, join his free weekly newsletter at patrickhercus.com/newsletter