There’s a version of growth that looks good on the outside. Fast. Productive. Forward-moving. You’re doing the things. Making progress. Checking the boxes. It looks like momentum. But internally… it doesn’t always feel that way. There’s a subtle tension. A sense that you’re moving…but not necessarily in the direction that’s true for you. And it’s hard to name. Because nothing is obviously wrong. You’re still growing. You’re still building. But something feels slightly off.
The Pressure to Move Quickly
We’re taught directly and indirectly that growth should be fast. That if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. That momentum equals success. So we push. We make decisions quickly. Say yes before we’ve fully felt into it. We move forward because it seems like the next logical step. And sometimes… It works. But sometimes…we outpace ourselves.
When Growth Isn’t Rooted
Growth that’s rushed often comes from somewhere external. Expectation. Pressure. Fear of missing out. A need to keep up. It’s not always conscious. But it’s there. And when growth isn’t rooted in something deeper it can lead you somewhere that looks right…but doesn’t feel like you. You feel it in your energy. In the effort it takes to maintain what you’ve built. In the quiet questioning that starts to surface: Why doesn’t this feel the way I thought it would?
My Experience With It
There have been moments in my life where I moved quickly. Where I made decisions because they made sense on paper. Because they looked right. Because they kept things moving. And from the outside, it worked. But internally… I could feel the disconnect. It wasn’t until after cancer that I realized a lot of my growth had been rushed. Not in a reckless way. But in a way that didn’t fully include me. I had built things without always checking if they actually aligned.
What Nurtured Growth Feels Like
Growth that is nurtured moves differently. It’s slower. More intentional. It doesn’t come from pressure. It comes from awareness. You pause before you move. You question what feels right. You allow things to unfold instead of forcing them forward. And at times… it can feel like you’re not doing enough. Maybe even like you’re falling behind. But something else is happening beneath the surface. You’re building from truth. And when growth is rooted in that, it doesn’t need to be rushed. Because it becomes inevitable.
The Difference You Can Feel
Rushed growth feels like effort. Like something you have to maintain. Nurtured growth feels like alignment. Like something that supports you instead of something you’re constantly trying to hold together.
A Different Way to Move Forward
This doesn’t mean you stop growing. Or stop moving. It means you move differently. Not from urgency. Not from pressure. But from a place that actually includes you. Because the truth is growth that is rushed will always ask you to keep up with it. Growth that is nurtured…meets you where you are and builds from there.
