A grounded look at how growth can feel slow or invisible, and how to trust the process
Remember that one day as a kid when you (tried to) put on a shirt that inexplicably and seemingly “shrunk” overnight? Or when you scrolled back to a picture of yourself from five years ago and couldn’t believe how different you looked? Think about when you hit the final note of a musical piece you’ve been practicing every day for months and realized that you played it flawlessly. Or your potted plant that was entirely leaves yesterday and now has a tiny pink flower.
Growth is slow. It must be. Growth, by definition, is a process and often a process that we don’t realize is happening in the moment. Much of the time, it’s only when we look back that we can see how far we have come.
Pause for a minute and take a breath deep into your belly. Think of yourself ten years ago. Notice the many, many differences between that version of you and this one. Now imagine yourself two years ago. There are probably lots of differences between then and now but fewer or less obvious than ten years ago. Next, think of yourself from yesterday. Even though the person you were yesterday is closer to who you are today than these other past selves, yesterday-you have grown.
Today you is still growing. Ten years from now you will look back and marvel at how you have grown from now. We don’t often notice these changes as they happen, but those inches are becoming miles. Thank past-you for the growth that made today possible!
