Our obsession with growth is troubling
Is it a good thing, when we constantly pressure ourselves, as well as others into growth? We need to grow our business, we have to to grow our economy, we should have a growth mindset, and of course we are asked to evolve into the best version of ourselves. Looking all of the time for the next upgrade available in the self improvement playing field.
It seems like one constant race without a finish line for bigger, better and further! What this is exactly supposed to be good for I am not quite sure.
Is there a trophy to be won? At what cost?
Our obsession with growth has come to a point, where we get already worried when there’s just a tiny moment of stagnation, when things or we ourselves aren’t moving forward anymore.
It’s as if we were only breathing in without ever being allowed to pause let alone breathe out.
I am sure, deep down most os us know how unnatural this growth at all costs mindset is and quite frankly deeply exhausting.
In nature, there’s for sure big pauses of stillness, like winter, a long breath out, before everything comes to life again. Or you look at a tree where one branch has died off and at the same time another one is still growing.
Personally I believe we need both, phases of stagnation and phases of growth. Sometimes, it is happening simultaneously as with the tree. One part of our lives is on hold another one is growing.
Believing, that we have to be on the move, growing, evolving all of the time fosters the feeling of never good enough where we are at the moment.
It doesn’t allow us to pause and just simply smell the flowers!
Stagnation as well as feeling stuck have their places in our lives and I am sure there’s no one who hasn’t gone through those, because it’s kind of normal.
This is why we can give ourselves a break, when we are feeling once more stuck again, normalising it a little. Maybe it isn’t time yet to move forward, maybe we need to be patient and still gather more information, or we need to tread carefully. It could also be, that we are not ready yet for the change ahead.
In the cases, where we can’t deal with our stuckness anymore and the frustration inside is rising, that’s the point where it might be helpful to get some outside help on board finding a path forward, which also feels feasible.
All I am saying is, that stagnation isn’t always a bad thing, we need to run away from. Instead let’s have a closer look and sit with it. If anything our world needs more people, who are willing to slow down, breathe out and can be still for a little while.