Overdosed this week

What does growth feel like? Nah, I’m not talking about physical growth where your bones and muscles get stretched during puberty and you wake up as a cranky teenager. I’m talking about the growth that comes from life punching you in different places.

To me, it feels bittersweet!

This week was an overdose of it, and I’m gonna share three new lessons that I’ve learned with you all. But why bittersweet, you ask? Because I am grateful for how these punches make me a better human being. However, I grieve the loss of people, things and opportunities along the way.

Now let’s get to the point!

1) Lesson number one is your helpful actions may seem small to you but they are really BIG for someone else, so don’t underestimate them. This week, I accompanied someone to a place where she was super scared to go (can’t reveal for privacy reasons). But we went anyway, she faced the challenge head on and was elated by the results. On our way back, she thanked me for accompanying her and told me she’d treat me with something special. Now bear in mind, this is the kind of girl who has never expressed this openly in the many many years that I’ve known her. So it specially meant a lot coming out of her. I had no idea a small action like accompanying her would mean this much to her. It was a pleasant surprise!

2) Lesson number two is discomfort is a signal, not an enemy. I caught myself fidgeting in a situation that pushed me way outside my comfort zone. Earlier, I would have run away or called it “not for me.” But this time, I sat with it. I realized discomfort is simply my mind’s way of announcing, “Hey, something is shifting inside you.” Once I started treating it as a signal instead of a threat, it lost half its power over me.

3) Lesson number three is clarity doesn’t always arrive fully formed. I always thought I’d “know” when I figured something out. This week, I discovered that clarity often tiptoes in as fragments. A phrase here, a feeling there, a sudden sentence scribbled in my notebook, a sudden conversation. I don’t have the full picture yet, but the little pieces are guiding me anyway. And maybe that’s enough to trust the breadcrumbs until the path shows itself.

Growth, I’ve learned, isn’t about collecting perfect answers but it’s about surviving the punches, honouring the losses, and still choosing to move forward with an open heart. Hope these lessons help you out the way they helped me.