Image from Behance
It's easy to associate growth with being at a different place and time from where you used to be. This notion gives us some sense of movement from one point of our life to another— a feeling of change.
Change has always been an essential part of growth. It is why we feel like it means the same thing when in reality, we can experience changes without actually growing or being a version of ourselves that's better.
Try imagining that you're taking a big step: moving out of your family home for the first time. You're moving to a new place, a new environment, and you'll be living independently after living a chunk of your life with people you know. This is what a change might feel like for us.
To achieve real growth is having the time to assess and reflect on every aspect of the changes we experience in life. For us to make sure we're not just ticking off goals for the thrill of achieving milestones, we have to make sure we take the extra work in introspecting and reflecting on how to be better to make sure we make the most out of these changes.
To make sure you're not just going and that every milestone or change you experience in life leads to a better version of you, try to keep these in mind:
Remember what urged the change.
Image from Simply Skin
Most of the time, in the hustle to get to where we are, we forget the main reason why we're doing the things we do— we lose our center. It is an all-too-real situation, and you're not alone when you feel a little out of sorts even when experiencing the change we've always dreamed of having.
Accept this feeling, then try to remember what urged you to get to where you are right now. Maybe you felt a need to pursue something that's out of your comfort zone after finding that something wasn't fulfilling or challenging you anymore. Perhaps you got out of a routine that wasn't working the way it used to. There were always valid reasons that propped us to initiate or work towards a change. To make sure we experience growth, it's best to keep revisiting these reasons to make sure our next steps work towards a better state of who we are.
Stay guided: Why did I want this certain change in my life? What urged me to get here?
Be unabashedly real with yourself.
Image from Irisa Xiong
Now that we took the time to recenter ourselves, our next step is being a hundred percent real with ourselves when we reflect.
Different from being overly critical of ourselves, being real means coming at a place of vulnerability and self-awareness. It is acknowledging that while we do try to be a better version of ourselves than where we left off, at the end of the day, the fact remains that we're all imperfect. This means we're honest with ourselves when we take missteps and celebrate what worked for us. We recognize what we did right while maintaining a mindset that's open to accepting what we might have done wrong. This way we're not just overcoming obstacles or celebrating our wins for the sake of it but also getting to know ourselves— an all-important part of growing.
Stay guided: What did I do right, and what could have been better? How did I feel when in the process of doing those?
Work with purpose.
Image from LoQ
Once we've found out more about ourselves, it's time to move accordingly— taking everything we've learned and having full intent on making the most out of the changes we experience in life.
We hear a lot about manifesting certain things in life to happen, but this will work in full force when we pair it with doing the work that comes with it. When we align our intentions with actions, we attract changes that contribute to our growth. In this step, it's important to find people, places, and routines to surround yourself with to help you get exactly what you need in order to grow with you. Choose an environment that can welcome you as you are and also embrace the inevitable changes you'll go through with the goal of helping you become better along the way. With guidance from experts whose mindset centers on what will be good for you (and nothing else), Simply Skin's a place where you could foster good habits that you and your skin will be thankful for in each visit. Feel it with every treatment filled with care and innovative ways to regularly take care of you and with how each experience is different based on where you are right now and what you want to achieve with your skin for it— all parts of the equation to make growing something to regularly look forward to.
Stay guided: Am I responding to these changes according to my goal of being a higher version of myself? What steps will contribute to this goal?
When we experience change, we have the power to choose whether those changes will be meaningful in our journey. Personal growth takes place when we practice that power in ways that we can— it's making sure we don't lose ourselves in the process of change and that every step centers towards one goal: progress.
Thumbnail from DEL RAINBOW and We Wore What