Enemies of Growth

With each day comes the opportunity to grow. Amongst the plethora of factors which stagnate spiritual growth, three stand prominent. We slide into mediocrity and averageness when we’re too busy, too arrogant or too comfortable to invest in our life.

Reflect on the three ingredients of growth below. What are your blocks to growth and how can you overcome them? What tangible changes can you make immediately?

Time – our valuable hours are consumed by pressing issues and daily demands. Some things surely require immediate attention, but we have a chronic tendency to unnecessarily promote tasks in our ‘to-do list’ that may well be urgent but not really very important. Thus, we end up neglecting that which doesn’t frantically tag on our consciousness, but which is key to the bright future ahead – time spent reflecting, planning, challenging and questioning. We need to free up quality time and mental space to ‘think out of the box.'

Humility – to improve, we must first acknowledge that we’re not the best version of ourselves. This requires humility. We think often ourselves one step ahead of everyone else, and our own pride blocks us from seeing how we could be wrong. A humble person accepts their limitations, looks for guidance, ever seeking an opportunity to refine and enhance their character and lifestyle.

Courage – life is a perennial tension between comfort and aspiration. We seek to explore, to grow, to achieve, yet we also desire security, safety and certainty. Truth be told, we have to sacrifice one to get the other. If we opt to remain in the comfort-zone, we may have to live with the inevitable feelings of an unexciting and lifeless existence. On the other hand, if we dive for our dreams we’ll have to ready ourselves to brave the rocky road of uncertainty and obstacle. Every significant achievement has its price tag. In an age where security, establishment and balanced prosperity have become the guiding beacons for our comfortable life, only a few have the courage to follow their dreams.