Better today than yesterday

Hi guys, I've been thinking about personal growth, and these are my thoughts.

I think that in life, change is inevitable, and as people we all change, but it doesn't mean that we all grow, and even when we do grow, it doesn't mean that we're gonna grow at the same pace or even at the same time.

In fact, to the contrary, I think that it is important for us to appreciate and expect that, as individuals, we will each grow at different paces and sometimes in different directions as a result of the same or different experiences.

Think of it like academics: the classroom is our world, the people we meet and interact with are fellow students, and the situations we encounter are tests. We won't all sit the same tests and we definitely won't all earn the same grades. And ya can't cheat life, right? I'm just saying.

And so, if we can think of life as an extended spiritual lesson with different modules, then it might be easier to appreciate that, as learners, we would each grasp this great subject, life, in different ways and at different stages because we are each unique and we have different learning needs. And we will all be changed by our experiences, but only some of us will grow from them.

Maybe if we can think of it like that, it might help us to be more understanding in difficult situations and more empathetic to others even when it's clear that we are in different spaces.

So what does growth feel like to you?

To me, growth has been, at times, a challenging experience.

I've been through testing moments, moments in hindsight, where it felt like my life was over. I could not imagine ever being able to live past those moments. But thankfully, I was able to make it past those situations, to learn from them, to elevate and to change.

Difficult situations are temporary tests, like the questions at the end of a chapter in a schoolbook, and the important thing is to grow past that chapter so that we don't have to redo it and take the same tests again.

You don't want to be stuck on the same page for the rest of your life, so you transform and you grow, but you can't expect that everyone would have the same take away. You feel me?

It's like this: have you ever outgrown a friendship where you no longer like or find fulfilment in the things you once did together? Sometimes you still have love for your old friends, it's just that you might have grown in different directions, or you grew and they didn't, and now it takes a little bit more effort to engage with them than it might have taken before. That's fine. That's life.

Sometimes too, we may be spectators to someone else's test. We may be looking on as witnesses as they struggle with their lessons that we think they should have learned, or we may see them repeating habits after a test that they should have grown from and they didn't.

And for some of us, this voyeur experience, this witnessing of an event that we do not have the power to change can be frustrating. Because we can't make someone else grow, and sometimes our efforts to pull someone forward who is stuck in mental and spiritual quicksand and who seems to be unwilling to move forward from that place, can stunt our own growth. In moments like these, discernment is key, and sometimes, patience too. Might be they are growing, just at a slower rate.

Again, I'm just saying.

And so, guys, here's the thing on this day. I want to grow. I've been stunted for a minute, and now, I want to be that plant that just unfolds its leaves in the morning and visibly stretches to the sun.

I understand though that in this symbiotic space we share, I can only be great by helping others, if you want the help that is.

So, for me, rather than setting selfish resolutions to achieve more or to do better in comparison with someone else, I am trying to be more empathetic to and supportive of others and a bit more reflective so that I can be better than the past me. My resolve, I want to be a better person today than I was yesterday, and tomorrow, I want to be better than I am today.

Well guys, those are my thoughts. What do you think about personal growth? And how do you strive to achieve it every day?

I hope you have an awesome day everyone!