“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”
Abraham Maslow
We often come to a fork in the road, which usually boils down to two options – do I take the path of least resistance? Or do I choose the untrodden path?
The first option is easy. It’s in our safety zone where we are comfortable and know what we are doing. We’ve done it before and feel supported.
The second option is more difficult. It’s messy, and there is no map. We don’t know if others will approve of this direction. It’s scary.
After a lifetime of choosing the easy and safe option, it wears thin, and life starts to feel more and more mundane. We lose the spark of excitement we once had.
The second path is all about challenge and delight. While it can feel disheartening in the trenches, we feel alive as we overcome obstacles and make meaningful progress carving out something we can call our own.
Growth brings a sense of fulfilment. But it is never easy, and we have to turn up again and again, struggle after struggle.