“Set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you grow into the person who can.” ~Anonymous
I read this today and it resonated instantly. While I don’t personally have an astronomical goal in mind, I firmly believe that we each have the capacity to grow into the person we aspire to be. Not only the capacity to grow but, the physiological need.
We have each experienced times in our lives when we have felt stagnant. It could be for an hour, a week, a year, or a decade. We succumb to the status quo, the comfortable and familiar, but we inevitably become restless; we need to feel relevant, inspired, and connected.
When we are young, growth comes easily, naturally, organically – it is what we do. We have countless opportunities to challenge ourselves and plan our adulthoods. We work towards better grades, a stellar performance, or admission to a particular school. Growth is inevitable, expected, and celebrated. Years out of school, our focus often turns to the mundane trappings of daily responsibilities and routines, punctuated by the occasional novel experience. It is hard to recognize growth day-to-day, and it is often only in retrospect that we see our personal metamorphosis.
Who do you see when you look in the mirror? What stories have created the person you have become? How do you want to grow today? What do you want to change?
Today, I was taking our dog, Skylar to the groomer. As I sat in the car allowing the rain to subside a bit, a random thought crossed my mind, “You said the word “I” too many times this morning,” I said to myself. I’m not sure what train of thought led me to that thought, but I heard it and it stuck! I never want to be that person, the “I” person. So, I set a goal so big that I can’t achieve it until I grow into the person who can. I’m going to work to grow into the person who does not feel the need to remind my children, “I taught you that,” my husband “I did that,” or my mother, “I know that.”
As I sat down to write this article, the story of a modern day Thelma and Louise was being reported on the 6:00 newscast. “Two Michigan women are embarking on a journey to fly to every state in the lower United States. The pilot is 90, and the co-pilot is 86 years young.” Case and point – it is never ever too late!
Society and humanity are in a constant state of change, yielding us the opportunity and responsibility to grow a little each day. By aspiring to be, do, or live better, we are incentivized to become more.
Live well/Be well