Growth Hurts, but Staying Stuck Hurts More: Choose Your Pain Wisely

As 2025 gets off, it’s hard not to pause and think about where we’ve been and where we’re headed. For most of us, 2024 has had its share of challenges. Maybe you pushed yourself to grow, and it was uncomfortable. Or maybe you stayed in your comfort zone, and now there’s this nagging feeling that you could’ve done more.

Let’s be honest—growth hurts.

• It makes you step out of what feels safe and familiar.
• It demands sacrifices and forces hard decisions.

Change hurts too.

• It disrupts your routines.
• It makes you face things you’d rather avoid.

But here’s the thing: staying stuck? That pain lasts. It eats away at your energy and leaves you wondering, What if I had tried? What would my life look like if I’d been braver?

As 2025 kicks in, ask yourself: What kind of pain am I willing to endure—the short-term discomfort of growth or the long-term regret of staying the same?

Let’s Talk About Growth

Growth isn’t glamorous. It’s messy, it’s scary, and sometimes it feels like you’re not getting anywhere. But if you’re ready to move forward, here are a few things that can help:

1. Set Stretch Goals Don’t play it safe. Choose goals that excite you but also make your heart race a little. Those are the ones that will change you.

2. Take a Look Around Your environment matters more than you think. Are you surrounded by people and systems that push you forward, or are they holding you back?

3. Take Action—Even When It’s Hard It’s so easy to get stuck in planning mode, but plans don’t change lives—action does. Start small if you have to, but start.

4. Fail and Learn This is a tough one. Nobody likes failing. But every mistake teaches you something valuable. Failure isn’t the end; it’s part of the process.

5. Let Go of What’s Weighing You Down Sometimes, it’s a habit. Sometimes, it’s a relationship. Whatever it is, if it’s not helping you grow, it might be time to let it go.

What Will 2025 Look Like for You?

Here’s the truth: 2025 is a blank page. You get to decide what story you’ll write.

Will it be a year of growth, progress, and learning? Or will it be another year of “what ifs” and wishing things were different?

I’m choosing growth, even though I know it won’t always be easy. What about you?

Let’s talk about it in the comments. What’s one thing you’ll do differently in the new year to lean into growth?