Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV
I like to think of Growth being Challenge’s best friend. Or maybe, Growth is the younger friend or sibling of Challenge. Wherever Challenge goes, Growth will follow closely.
What are we afraid of? What scares us the most?
Think about facing that Challenge, then about how we will Grow (in any way) after.
I speak from personal experience. Being brought up in a risk averse environment has given me a remarkable ability to talk myself down and out of anything new, unfamiliar, and scary. I often focus on the many ways in which I am inadequate, so obstacles and challenges are magnified and granted their full strength.
There’s no way I’m going to take that rollercoaster.
I’m not going to be able to swim 200m back to shore from the open sea with a snorkel and fins.
I can’t scale an inclined rock wall for sure. And how am I going to belay someone almost twice my weight?
I don’t think I can ski down this intermediate slope.
My statistics are not good enough to be a PhD student.
I can’t dance for nuts. I’m terrible. I have no swag.
Challenge intimidates me tremendously. The security of staying within what’s comfortable seizes me from trying something new or making life-changing decisions. What bridges the gap between possessing the desire to push myself out of my comfort zone and actually doing it, is the tremendous support of the people around me.
Growth triggers a tiny desire within me to conquer the Challenge. The encouragement and support of friends add to this desire, to have the strength to push these self-defeating doubts aside. I will be a little braver, a little more confident after the rollercoaster ride, after the swim. Because some people believed in me more than I believed in myself, I had the courage to email and speak to professors, research and apply for masters / scholarships / jobs, seek for meaningful work, go backpacking, drive overseas, start a blog, learn cycling, swimming, skiing, dancing, rock climbing, and diving.
The rollercoaster isn’t scary at all.
The distance to shore isn’t far at all.
You CAN.
No one starts out perfect.
You learn fast.
The slope isn't scary at all.
You just have to stay long enough to not care about what others think.
You’ll be fine. You’re strong. You’re brave. You know what you want.
This quote forms a guiding principle in my life for making decisions in the pursuit of personal growth - and I really couldn’t have done them without that extra push from my friends.
Remember that Growth comes after Challenges!