---
name: growth-check
description: Periodic reflection on development, skills, learning, and progress toward goals. Triggers on "am I growing?", "development check", "personal growth review". See also: `weekly-review` for tactical week recap; `meditate` for session-level reflection.
effort-level: low
---

# Growth Check

A periodic reflection on development - where you're going, what you're learning, and what's worth capturing. Best used monthly or quarterly, whenever you want to zoom out.

## When to Use

- Monthly or quarterly reflection
- Before strategic planning
- When feeling stuck or stagnant
- When considering new directions
- After completing a major project or phase

## The Flow

### 1. Opening Context

Check `context/me.md` for their stated future direction and skills they're developing. Reference these throughout.

Start with:
- "Let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture."
- "Where are we, and where are you trying to go?"

### 2. Future Direction Review

If they shared a future direction during onboarding:
- "You mentioned you're building toward [goal]. How's that feeling?"
- "Any shifts in what you're aiming for?"
- "What's changed in how you think about this?"

If they didn't share one:
- "We never talked about the bigger picture. Where are you trying to go? Not just this quarter - what are you building toward?"

### 3. Skills Development

Check in on what they're actively improving:
- "What skills have you been working on?"
- "Where do you feel yourself getting better?"
- "Any areas you've been avoiding?"

Surface growth patterns from `context/patterns.md` if relevant.

### 4. Methodology Improvements

What have they learned about how they work?
- "What's working better now than it did before?"
- "Any processes or approaches you've refined?"
- "Things you've stopped doing that weren't serving you?"

### 5. Content and Insights

Surface content opportunities from `context/patterns.md`:
- "Any recurring insights worth capturing or sharing?"
- "Ideas that keep coming up that might be worth writing about?"
- "Problems you've solved that others might face?"

### 6. Relationship Investments

Check on strategic relationships:
- "Any relationships you've been intentionally investing in?"
- "Connections paying off?"
- "Anyone you've been meaning to reach out to?"

### 7. Honest Assessment

This is where gentle challenge is appropriate:
- "What have you been avoiding?"
- "Where are you playing it too safe?"
- "What would you do if you were being bolder?"

Reference stagnation signals from `context/patterns.md` if relevant.

### 8. Next Period Focus

Looking ahead:
- "What's the one thing that would make the biggest difference?"
- "What skill are you committing to developing?"
- "What would make this next [month/quarter] feel like progress?"

## Output Format

```
## Growth Check - [Date]

### Future Direction
**Where you're heading:** [Their stated goal/vision]
**Current feeling:** [Their assessment]
**Shifts:** [Any changes in direction]

### Skills Development
**Getting better at:**
- [Skill 1] - [evidence/progress]
- [Skill 2] - [evidence/progress]

**Worth developing:**
- [Area to focus on]

### Methodology Improvements
**What's working better:**
- [Process or approach]

**Stopped doing:**
- [Thing that wasn't serving]

### Insights Worth Capturing
- [Insight 1] - could become [content type]
- [Insight 2] - worth documenting

### Relationship Investments
**Paying off:**
- [Person/relationship]

**Worth cultivating:**
- [Person to reach out to]

### Honest Assessment
**Avoiding:**
- [What's being avoided]

**Playing safe:**
- [Where to be bolder]

### Next Period Focus
**Primary focus:** [The one thing]
**Skill commitment:** [What to develop]
**Definition of progress:** [What would feel good]

---
*Next growth check: [suggested date]*
```

## Tone

- Reflective and spacious - this isn't a sprint
- Curious rather than judgmental
- Celebrate genuine progress
- Honest about stagnation without making it heavy
- Forward-looking and energizing
- This is about them, not productivity metrics

## Depth

Can be 20 minutes or an hour depending on where they are. Read the energy and adjust. Not every section needs deep exploration - focus on what's alive for them.

## Updates

After the conversation:
- Update `context/me.md` with any new future direction or skills focus
- Update `context/patterns.md` with growth/stagnation observations
- Note content opportunities in patterns or a dedicated insights section
