"Stop Chasing Growth and Start Allowing It"

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growth—how it shows up in our lives, how we chase after it, and, more importantly, how we sometimes resist it. The more I explore this, the more I find myself asking: Do we really need a "growth mindset" to flourish, or do we need better skills to stop resisting the natural process of growth?

For a long time, I bought into the idea that if I wasn’t moving forward, pushing harder, or improving in some way, I was stuck. The growth mindset—this idea that success comes from hard work, learning, and resilience—felt like a road map. It was the promise that no matter where I was, I could get somewhere better if I just leaned into the discomfort and kept pushing.

But here's the thing: the more I pressed into the idea of growth, the more I started noticing resistance. Even though I wanted to evolve, there were parts of me that held back. It was almost like an internal tug-of-war between who I was and who I thought I should be.

This led me to wonder if maybe the problem wasn’t that I didn’t have a growth mindset, but rather that I was resisting the growth that was already trying to happen. Living Beyond has taught me that growth is not something we have to fight for; it’s something we allow. We don’t need to constantly chase after more; we need to create space to let what’s already there flourish.

So, do we need a growth mindset? Maybe. But what if we don’t need to add more pressure to our lives with the idea that we’re always supposed to be improving? What if, instead, we could learn how to stop resisting the growth that naturally wants to unfold?

Resistance often comes from fear—fear of failure, fear of losing what we know, fear of stepping into the unknown. In my experience, resistance shows up in subtle ways: the avoidance of difficult conversations, the hesitation to make decisions, or even the distraction of staying busy with things that don’t really matter. It's like we build walls around ourselves, trying to protect who we are now, even if we’re longing for something different.

Living Beyond invites us to consider that growth isn’t always about climbing a mountain or crossing the finish line. Sometimes it’s about letting go of the walls we've built, dropping the stories that no longer serve us, and allowing ourselves to evolve without force. When we stop resisting, we realize that growth was never something we had to strive for. It’s already within us, waiting for permission to unfold.

So maybe the question isn't just about developing a growth mindset. Maybe it's about gaining the skills to release our resistance to growth—to trust the process, to be patient with the uncomfortable moments, and to allow ourselves to change without constantly pushing. Maybe it’s about finding peace in the unfolding instead of trying to force it.

The growth mindset can be helpful, no doubt, but it’s not the whole picture. It’s only one side of the coin. The other side is learning to let go, to stop standing in our own way, and to embrace the transformation that’s always happening—even when we’re not looking for it.

Living Beyond reminds us that growth is not a battle to be won. It’s an invitation to let ourselves expand in the way we’re meant to. The more we can stop resisting that invitation, the more we can step into the fullness of who we are meant to be.

So, what do you think? Do you need a growth mindset, or do you just need to stop resisting the growth that’s already within you?