If someone were to ask what you think is growth, the instant response would be about moving forward. It’s how each perceives growth.
But that’s not how it works in real life.
Growth is progress. Whether it’s linear or moves in loops or takes breaks in between, it’s more to do with perspective.
Sometimes you may feel like you’re going in circles, yet you never arrive at the same old starting point. You’ve gained a higher level of understanding, your thinking has evolved, and you’re more confident about yourself.
That’s growth too. Not a straight line but constantly evolving and spiralling (hopefully not out of control).
Just look back and you’ll notice the pattern.
Children: Growing Through Repetition
Remember your childhood when you were learning to ride a bicycle? The failed attempts, falls, bruises, crashes and yet you never gave up till you were able to ride by yourself.
I remember my younger one’s attempts to learn to ride the elder one’s bicycle, which was quite big for her.
One day she returned home with a bloodied mouth, a cut lip and three broken teeth! Yet she was back with her attempts the next week. A month later, she was able to ride without holding the handles!
For children growth is not about moving on. It’s about repeating until it clicks.
They will keep trying the same challenge until they’re comfortable with it. Yes, each attempt looks similar but there’s growth in that too.
They don’t overthink; they go with their instinct to overcome the challenge.
And all they need from us is the space to try again, without pressure.
Young Adults: Questioning the Path
Things change as they grow older. The decisions are less instinctive and the result of thinking it over.
Young adults often see growth as progress. Choosing the right college or career, making the right decisions, moving ahead of the peers without hesitation.
They’re constantly under pressure (some self-inflicted, some from the parents) to figure out things quickly.
But life has its own way of helping them grow.
The young ones are still figuring out the world around them. They make decisions and then question it. They move forward and then want to circle back.
They’re constantly battling their decisions, feeling lost and confused. But in reality they’re refining it, building it and getting clarity. That’s growth.
Growth isn’t about getting it the right the first time. It’s about being brave enough to revisit, rethink, and rebuild. Sometimes it’s about starting over.
A colleague’s son decided to quit college midway to pursue something else which got him deeply interested.
His decision was met with opposition (expected) but he stayed true to his vision. Today, he runs a start-up, still growing and waiting for more.
It may not be the same route for everyone. But growth has innumerable possibilities to explore.
Whatever they do, they’re moving away from where they started, learning and discovering new things. That’s another form of growth.
Adults: Reflection and Reinvention
The definition of growth undergoes change for an adult. Growth equates stability.
As an adult, you’ve settled into routines, roles, responsibilities, and identities. And you’ve become comfortable with them.
But unintentionally that comfortable space restricts your growth. Some amount of discomfort is needed as a catalyst.
Whether its revisiting your beliefs, or the choices you’ve made, you’ve to be willing to see them from a fresh perspective.
Don’t regret them. You’re willing to move out of your past and learn from it. And that’s growth.
It could be a career choice (changing the job or the profile), or re-evaluating some habits (incorporating more healthy choices) or just upgrading your personal beliefs.
Each of these are examples of growth. They’re certainly not linear but they include movement, positive changes, aa you’re willing to outgrow your past.
The Truth
Growth is not about discarding your past or leaving it behind. That’s not happening. Growth is about returning to it with better clarity and understanding.
If you consider growth a linear process, you’ll be under pressure to perform and deliver.
But if you consider growth as evolution or a spiral movement, then you get to take a pause and think it through.
At times, you may feel like you’re in the same place but growth ensures changes happen even then, with you as a willing participant in the process.
Go revisit, re-evaluate, and revamp your life. Don’t stop growth from becoming a part of your life.
You’re not stuck. You’re spirally, just not in the way you expected.
