“Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, and relationships that have lost their meaning.” -John C Maxwell
There are many different things that can make it hard for us to grow. Perhaps, the most difficult thing about growth is learning to let go of what doesn’t serve us anymore. This could be friends, relationships, material items, anything really. Sometimes we may fall victim to comfort in any of these situations and its only human, but it is also human to overcome these challenges.
I was talking to this gentleman one day and he said, “One of the most challenging things for me was to learn my weakness to the things and people that were no longer good for me. I found normalcy in having something or someone to rely on and all I needed to rely on was my own strength.” It’s amazing how we all carry a different path, but eventually go through the same lesson if we’re willing to learn.
Letting Go
The task of letting go is not an easy one to conquer. It takes not only the ability to say no, but the action and willingness to stand firm in the decision of saying no. Ask yourself, “How many times have I said no, but didn’t stand behind it?”, and give yourself an honest answer. The only way to grow is to be truthful to yourself. Many times I’ve lied to myself with that one question. I allowed false belief to overpower the truth and it hindered my growth. Sometimes I still struggle with that one question in certain situations. I can never be one to tell you that it is easy, but I will be one to say that everyone has the power to overcome whatever is limiting their progress. Keep in mind that it takes a consistent practice of building a positive mindset in order to grow. Everything we want to conquer will always depend on the mindset we have. If you think like a sad puppy, you’ll become one, but if you think like a courageous lion…you get the idea. I’m sure you’ve heard many analogies like that before, but its law. A positive mindset contributes to your growth.
Learning Your Strength
Quite often we are the last to know our own strength. Everyone around us can see what we are capable of (whether they like us or not), but us. All the signs of greatness can be right in front of us, but our thoughts and views of ourselves can fog our true strength. While releasing the things that doesn’t serve us, we will find a few strengths that we possess like making the decision to release, standing strong in doing so and being okay after doing it. There are many benefits that come with taking the time to let go of things that are no value to our growth. Below are a few things that can be signs of something blocking our growth.
How to recognize the things that doesn’t serve you?
- You may be under constant stress. Whatever is causing this issue can fall under the “no longer in service” category.
- Holding on to something you know would be best to let go, but you are more interested in the comfort rather than the lesson.
- It takes you away from your own happiness. Depression may kick in more often than it should. This particular thing can play a major role in our beliefs about ourselves. We can become our own blockage due to our mindset, our words, and our actions.
- Your goals are altered for the happiness of a partner. We have all been there. This is never the answer. Your goals should never have to be compromised for a relationship.
Growth involves many more things and its up to us to make the adjustment. Reveal the power you have inside. Understand the value you gain from your development. Growth is uncomfortable but definitely necessary. We will never know our own strength until we are willing to grow.
Until next time,
Ashley
