You’re starting to turn the corner. 

You’re exercising more, sleeping more, putting down your phone more. 

You’re dedicating regular time to your side hustle. 

You’re finally closing your laptop and taking a sabbath.

You’re feeling healthy and motivated. 

Stress levels are receding. 

Energy levels are rising. 

Motivation is growing.

Doesn’t growth feel good! 

Then you get that comment from one friend. Or a few. They aren’t excited about your new life. Your motivation annoys them. Your boundaries aren’t convenient for them. They feel shut out and left out. They don’t expect your change to last, and they poke fun at you. As sure as the earth spins others will oppose your growth and maturity. Taylor Swift warned us about the haters, but these growth haters are your friends and family! In the very moment you need their support to leave your sloppy living behind you get resistance instead.  

Then you start to miss little things about the life you’re leaving behind. You make different decisions with your time, your friends, your food, your evenings, your mornings, your reading. You are delaying gratification. You are looking through the lens of wise instead of fun. Sometimes you’ll miss the fun moments that came with sloppy living. Growth is change and change is loss. If you want to grow expect to grieve.   

Growth is disorienting. You have literally been oriented for a way of life, and now you’re living a different narrative. You’ve left the comfort of the beaten path to trudge through the thick brush and swamps of the wilderness. Briars will cut up your legs and the mud will steal your boots. Getting healthy will jack you up. Lean into the disorientation; it’s normal. 

So, here’s the stuff no one ever told you about growth. It’s all part of the deal. 

It will get harder before it gets easier. Just because you need to grow doesn’t mean it will be easy to grow. Growth is worth it, but it’s hard. No one will get you out of bed early, prioritize your schedule for you or say no to that fast food binge. You’ll question whether you really want what’s on the other side of the struggle.    

It will get worse before it gets better. Don’t expect immediate results. You might feel exhausted before you feel more energy. You might hate your new work before you learn to love it. You’ll go to sleep feeling great and wake up sore. It takes time to get into a new rhythm. You’re going to feel some pain.     

It will be confusing before it becomes clear. Your new future won’t present itself a week after you start making changes. Life doesn’t magically come into focus. The new job doesn’t just appear. Pounds and inches don’t magically fall off. In fact, as you get healthy you spot other areas of your life that are unhealthy. Change will yield more change.

In the best and worst ways getting healthy will jack you up. It’s wilderness. It’s unpredictable. It’s scary. But you’re an explorer. The life you’re designed to live is on the other side of fear. Keep trudging; it’s worth it!  

—- If you’re looking for a process to identify your new goals and jumpstart growth we want to help! Get momentum for your first week of growth by downloading 5 Days to Focus; A Journey toward Impact