Growth begins with meeting yourself
Working with young people and adults, I see how often we rush forward before asking ourselves two very important questions: (1) Who am I, truly? and (2) Why is this important to me?
We live in a time that encourages speed - to achieve, to improve, to seize opportunities, to keep up. When we go, run, and do, it may look like constant growth. Yet often this movement happens without conscious direction, because we have not paused long enough to listen to ourselves. Is movement without awareness truly growth?
From the outside, movement often looks like development, we do more, achieve more, experience more. But not every movement means progress, does it? Sometimes it is simply the continuation of a run, a way of filling time without asking where we are actually heading.
For a long time, I also lived with a quiet but persistent fear of missing something, for example, opportunities, collaborations, encounters, doors not yet opened. There was a deeply rooted belief that growth meant saying “yes” as often as possible, constantly expanding my to-do list, and always staying in motion. But I must admit — that is not what growth truly is.
In a recent coaching session with a long-term client, I was particularly touched by her realization that growth does not always begin with sudden change. Yes, change can move us, open a new chapter, or give us the momentum we often need. But when we move, that movement needs direction.
True growth often begins with the courage to pause, with the moment before taking the next steps, when we enter into an honest conversation with ourselves: Is this direction truly my direction?
I will admit that I still need to remind myself of this. Growth is not only the courage to move forward — it is also the courage to pause for a moment.
Krista Kristiāna Kristapsone
Growth facilitator, youth worker, and Head of the organization Youth Initiative Center “Involvement for Change”