Growing is Letting Go

"You're either growing. Or you're dying."

Dave Hollis

Such a simple concept. Yet so hard to apply to so many things in life. Marriages, friendships, jobs... the list goes on. I'm learning through experience that sometimes we have to let things die before we can truly grow. We have to let go of the things, and yes, the people, too, that hold us back. Some things just aren't meant to be forever. And it's okay that letting go is difficult. But that doesn't mean that it's not what we have to do.

Growth comes when we push the boundaries that confine us. And more often than not it's just small steps outside of those boundaries- just beyond our comfort zones- and into the unknown that help us grow the most. Experiences, both successes and failures, become the very stepping stones into the unknown world that will take us to where we are meant to be. But we've got to trust each step, each little, infinitesimal step, that they are guiding us to our destiny.

We are where we've put ourselves. Life doesn't happen to you, but instead it happens for you. We have more power than we know. We have more strength than we can imagine. We can take control and decide where we want to go. The lessons we learn through experience often boil down to our perspectives. If we want to see through other lenses of perspective, we must be willing to grow in new ways.

What are the things in your life that are keeping you from becoming the truest version of yourself? What in your life is dying? We're not meant to hold onto everything. We have to find courage to say no in life. No to the things that hold you back, no to the job beating down on your soul, no to the friend who said they would always be there but then never shows up. Letting go of these things can be some of the hardest things that we can do. But your largest fear carries your greatest growth.

Dreams can be expensive. Thoreau says, "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." Even though letting go can be hard and scary, ask yourself, are the things holding me back worth the price of my future? Surely the things that matter should also be the things that push us one step further every day. They should be the things, or people, who encourage our change and feed our growth. Nothing else should matter. Have faith in the knowledge that we can push ourselves beyond the constraints of our boundaries - we have that in us - and have faith that you can choose your own way. Make life happen for you. Learn from your mistakes and failures, for they aren't reasons to quit, but rather lessons that teach us the way toward our dreams.