I’ve been thinking about growth lately. Specifically, how we can be so hard on ourselves if (or when) we feel like we aren’t growing ‘enough’, or when we feel like we ‘should’ be further ahead than we are.
There are so many ways we can measure our growth; I’ve found that to do so by first looking within—so we don’t compare, constrict or criticise—can be the most powerful.
Let yourself look at the bigger picture and be proud of what you’ve accomplished (even when the timeline doesn’t quite match up with your ‘ideal’ timeline). Then you can let yourself enjoy the flow of inner freedom and joy you put in motion when you set a goal/dream/intention, and work towards it as slowly and purposefully as you need to, trusting the outcome without forcing or controlling it.
You can let yourself balance growth with gratitude.
As we create, and look ahead to the horizon of what we wish to move towards in life and work, things will continuously grow, shift and change. Our actions and reactions, our input and output, our internal uplevellings and our external engagements, will continuously reflect where we are in our lives, and what we’re needing to deepen, work on, heal, release and let go of.
Sometimes you’ll go through a period where your inward shifts will outweigh the outward goals, and you’ll have to surrender to these changes. Other times, your energy and focus will be singularly and beautifully directed at one goal, one project, one mission, and you may find yourself surrendering to that deep flow.
I’ve had to do it myself this year. In real time as I write this, I’m nearly 28 weeks pregnant. From healing from a blighted ovum (a type of miscarriage) at the start of the year, to now entering the third trimester of pregnancy, I can point to where the majority of this year’s growth has gone. (Baby girl!) I’ve surrendered to creating in a new way this year, and although I’ve tried to push back against this at times, in hindsight I can see it has been perfect.
I became witness to a new way of working, one that allowed me to deepen my flow, honour my own rhythm and respect my body and energy levels more deeply and greatly than ever before.
And so, as I near the end of this book (this book that called on me to deepen, within myself, absolutely everything I’ve written about in these pages), I’ve been reflecting on growth. Can we still have it when it looks very different to what we anticipated? I’m loving the answers and insights that are coming through in the process.
Here are some tips to support you, if you’re going through a period of growth that might feel sticky, or wanting to reconnect to the part of you who is truly always evolving:
It’s always available to you, even if it looks different to how you imagined. You are never static. And while you can always lean into your growth and into what’s next, raising your energy, vibration and frequency, and growing into who you are, you’re also allowed to trust that you’re in the right place for yourself, right now.
In fact, if you try to, you may find yourself feeling further away from it. Rather, allow yourself to align to it in your own time and in your own way, always trusting in the ‘or something better’.
Racing and rushing doesn’t get you to the finish line faster (because there is no finish line).
The fear will be in your head (hoping you’ll grip onto it), the expansion will sit in your body (hoping you’ll let go of the fear, waiting for you to lean into what’s next). Listen to your body first. And then? Trust, and stay open—knowing you’re supported and protected throughout this process of growth. (This time, and the next. And the next. And the next ...)
The more you trust in your growth and evolution, the more you can trust that there’ll be a turning point in your journey of activating your creativity and soul gifts.
I don’t mean you’ll feel the enigma of ‘one day’, or of being ‘there yet’, because you’ll always be growing and creating, and one day is today. But there’ll be a point where something clicks into place for you; it’ll feel like a question being answered; black and white turning to colour; the volume turning up.
It’ll be a point where self-criticism is more easily transmuted into self-confidence; where you feel like you’ve unlocked something which was always deeply embedded within.
You’ll know you’re on the right path, and you’ll allow yourself to stop comparing yourself to others, to stop wondering if you’re doing enough, to stop thinking you must be missing a memo that everyone else has been alerted to. You’ll let yourself claim where you are, and more importantly, who you are.
You’ll know how to activate, deepen and call on the creative, magnetic, radiant power that is always—and already—within you.
And it’ll happen again and again, as you continue to uplevel, upgrade, do the work, show up, and love what you create.
You’ll continue to deepen your work, and honour your gifts. You’ll continue to deepen the purpose that fuels your passion, and the passion that fuels the light that you are, the light you spread out into the world.
And as you now know, that light has to come from within first, and be honoured within first.
I trust in my ability to grow and evolve at my own pace, knowing I am always supported, and able to lean into my expansion, evolution and flow. I activate, deepen and call on the power that is always and already within me, knowing this supports me to fuel my passion, purpose and light.