Fake growth consists of constantly chasing another bullet point to put on your life resume. Another higher data point on a never ending graph. Another fake credential you can spew off to an unimportant stranger at an unimportant party. Another merit badge that you tell yourself will really make you feel “accomplished.” Then you can finally cash in on your growth and be satisfied.
But you never do get satisfied, do you? The number one sign of fake growth is: continual seeking.
The truth about real growth is that real growth doesn’t need validation. It doesn’t need you to approve or disapprove. It doesn’t need a stamp of validation or a letter of recommendation. It doesn’t need to be sanctioned by a regulated list of socially approved goals.
And here’s something else… Real growth doesn’t care that YOU call it growth.
It has no ego. It has no internal or external validation system.
That’s because real growth is beyond growth.
Real growth is about…
But you never do get satisfied, do you? The number one sign of fake growth is: continual seeking.
The truth about real growth is that real growth doesn’t need validation. It doesn’t need you to approve or disapprove. It doesn’t need a stamp of validation or a letter of recommendation. It doesn’t need to be sanctioned by a regulated list of socially approved goals.
And here’s something else… Real growth doesn’t care that YOU call it growth.
It has no ego. It has no internal or external validation system.
That’s because real growth is beyond growth.
Real growth is about…
- Experiencing a greater intimacy with life and a deeper passion for it.
- A new level of understanding; moving past a plateau.
- Liberation, not confinement.
- Fluidity, intuition, naturalness.
- The present moment.
- Starting from a place of wholeness.
- Accepting the reality of the situation as-it-is.
- Healing.
- Not being overly positive (denial) or overly negative (nihilistic).
- Real life, including all the warts, imperfections, blemishes, and scars.
Too much growth leads to suffocation, bursted bubbles, and overpopulation. Radical, never-ending growth is not sustainable.
Real growth knows that sometimes it’s time to stop growing. Sometimes it’s time to let go, to move on, and yes, to decline. Growth and decline are two sides of the same pole. Without one, the other can’t exist.
In the end, real growth knows that it doesn’t really matter. It’s not just about rising vertically, or expanding horizontally. Real growth knows that what goes up, must come down, and what expands, must contract.
Real growth often does not notice it’s there. It’s integrated. It gets out of the way of itself. It doesn’t try to count and measure how fast or slow it is growing.
Author and Credits: Jonathan