Growing Pains [Lessons Learned]

Growing pains are a part of life. They’re called “pains” because they aren’t very comfortable, painful even. Change is a part of life, so is evolving, making yourself and your life better in the process. Those who embrace the discomfort of growth usually move through it easier. It’s not easy for everyone, but one step at a time you’ll get there.

It’s important that you grow at your own pace. As I always say, slow and steady wins the race! Make sure to celebrate those small accomplishments because it will help motivate you to keep moving, keep learning and to make the next challenging step. As with everything in life, it’s important to manage your expectations and not compare your journey with others because everyone’s journey is their own, with their own challenges, their own pain and their own successes. Focus on your own path. If you feel you need to speak to someone (a professional, a trusted friend, etc) to help you along then there’s no shame in that!

How to deal with growing pains:

Grow at your own pace. Slow and steady wins the race!
Celebrate the small accomplishments.
Be in continuous learning mode. Learn new skills, learn from experiences, etc.
Manage your expectations and don’t compare your journey to others.
Have a solid support system.

We all know change is hard, but “Whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth.” [Bryant McGill]
Change is one of the hardest things we have to go through in our lives.
The solution to the discomfort of change is embracing growth – this includes constantly evolving and improving yourself.
Everyone wants to be on mountain peak but true growth happens when we are climbing the mountain – especially the challenges and hardships.
The thing that makes change so hard is the feeling of a loss of control. We like our comfort zones but when a change is forced on us or encouraged of us, it hard and we do not always face it positively or make something good out of it.
Transitioning from the negative perception of change into growth helps put a positive spin on your experiences.
This includes learning from our mistakes, learning from others / other perspectives and applying this to our next steps.
Each step you take you learn what to do or not to do. For example, If you step on quick sand, you learn for next time that you will be stuck and you will not do it again. Next time you will step on solid ground. That is growth.
In the same way, we should learn from our mistakes in life – whether it is in love, in our careers or personally – change is part of life so you can either throw a pity party or learn and elevate yourself to the next level. The choice is yours to make.
Growing pains are part of growth, push through and you will be happy you did.