The Cycles of Growth

Do you sometimes find yourself stuck on the personal development loop?

You might not be allowing yourself to move through the cycle. I love that you're doing the work. I love that you are aware. I'll take someone stuck on any part of this journey over an unaware person any day. But it is also easy to get lost in "what's wrong with me" and "what do I need to do" parts.

There's nothing wrong with you. You are not broken. You just have some parts that need healing. Some layers to shed. And maybe some colours to add here and there. Everybody does. They're just different for us all, and we're all perfectly imperfect like this.

The healing cycle consists of three main parts:

The Awareness.

Where it all begins. This is where we find the wounds to heal and where we discover what's behind our triggers.

The Work.

The active part with all the practices you use to process what you are aware of: journaling, meditation, parts integration, inner child work etc.

The Becoming.

The part that's easy to miss, yet arguably the most important. This is where the results of your work get absorbed and become a part of you.

From experience with clients and my own healing, I promise you that the best results come from relaxing into each season you go through. Time constraints and pressure don't apply here. While some transformations may happen overnight, you can't pressure yourself to get to any point in a specific timeframe. You might get sidetracked and find a more urgent part to address. Go with it.

Nobody goes on a healing journey and comes out on the other side perfect with nothing else to do. You will go round the growth cycle many times as you discover who you are at your core. You might even have multiple loops going at the same time. Don't get stuck looking around for things to heal. Don't spend so much time journaling, integrating, and working through things that you forget to live.

Allow yourself the space. Take breaks to absorb everything you're doing. That's when you notice the changes and when you get to know yourself that bit better. That's when you become your authentic self.

Explore.

Do the work.

Integrate it.

Rest and absorb.

Live your life.

Be imperfect.

Just like with physical exercise the adaptations don't happen in the gym but when you rest from it.

It's the same with inner work - the real change happens when you rest and notice them.

You are not a neverending home improvement project. You are the masterpiece of your lifetime.