I have never thought about personal growth so much as I did when I was – wait for it – in Alabama.
The dictionary defines growth as “the process of developing physically, spiritually, or mentally.” Thriving, blooming, and flourishing are all synonyms, and I have to say, I resonated very much with all these descriptives.
Though I do like the idea of growth being synonymous with “thriving,” I think it has become somewhat of a joke among young people today to assert they are “thriving,” when really they feel as if the world is crumbling around them. I have used this term in both ways, but blooming and flourishing? I think there is an ethereal quality about these two words, an implication that, much like spotting wildflowers on the side of the highway, you are at the edge of uncovering an untamed, beautiful gift.
This gift – a wonderous flourishing, blooming – comes at a price, though.
A lot of days, I feel as if I am, in fact, at the edge of this flourishing, this blooming. Around the corner, though, is hard work and tears. Ups and downs are (sadly) inevitable. Often, I want to drop-kick these tears associated with the downs to the curb. But you know, in the end, they are kind of worth it. They represent the care, the compassion, I have for precisely those things that require hard work.
No, growth is not easy. But I’m willing to bet a lot of money that more often than not, you are going to emerge on the other side of hardship, maybe a little worse for wear, but all the better because of what you have endured.
So cheers to those inevitable, pesky downfalls – they allow us to chase after the elusive person we are looking to be.
If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.
Tiffany Dufu
ON HAPPINESS 