The Reality Of Growth

The Pain of Progression.

Growth is not linear, it does not move in a straight line. Society, social media, and other influences attempt to brainwash us into believing that growth is a steady climb upwards, where we get 1% better every day. In reality, progress is more like a heartbeat on a monitor, full of unpredictable spikes and dips that make the whole thing alive. If you've ever attempted to learn a new skill, build a business, or unlearn a bad habit, you know that’s a total myth. In reality, growth looks a lot more like a tangled mess of scribbles. It’s a series of sharp spikes, frustrating plateaus, and those heart-sinking dips where it feels like you’ve actually regressed. We tend to judge our progress by where we are at the moment, but the "valley of disappointment" is usually where the most important internal restructuring is happening.

The challenging part is that we are trained to quantify progress as if it were a math equation– inputs and outputs, cause and effect. But personal evolution doesn’t owe us that kind of predictability. Some seasons of life might consist of sowing seeds that won’t sprout for years, while others hit you with unexpected leaps forward that feel almost undeserved. What sustains growth is the balance between expansion and stillness.

Understand, not all growth and development feels like you are moving forward. Sometimes progress feels like you’re staying in the same place, or even going backwards.

Pain and struggle are essential for a certain level of awareness to be achieved, which would lead to more discipline to be applied, thus allowing for growth to blossom.

Similar to the ideas expressed in the Motion vs. Progress post a few weeks back; Simply because you are not making $$ or you’re not where you feel you should be, does not mean you’re a failure and that you’ve made no progress.

Joseph in the Bible is an excellent example of this. He spent over a decade (I believe 12 years which is OD lol) of his life in bondage and/or imprisoned for being a man of integrity and following GOD's ways. It was almost like he was being punished for being a good man. Nevertheless, GOD is faithful. Out of all the trials, hardships, and betrayals he faced, he still managed to progress and improve himself. Allowing him to eventually become the Prime Minister of Egypt.

With this in mind, perhaps the objective isn’t to pursue linear success, but rather to learn to ride those waves–to stop mistaking stillness for stagnation and struggle for failure. When you stop anticipating the road to be straight, every stumble and blockade becomes part of the story. You start to trust that growth, even when it seems chaotic, is still occurring underneath it all– just at its own timing, at its own pace.

“The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’ “ - Genesis 41:52 NIV

“Progress isn’t always forward, it’s outward”- Carl Jung