Grow or Decline

Choose Wisely

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Onto the good stuff.

The Battle Rages

“You might not know it, but you are engaged in a war of the slave type against all that is noble…We have been engaged in this war, consciously or unconsciously, for at least the last twenty-four hundred years. It has now reached a critical point, a point at which we will either consciously take hold of a genuine future—a future in which the human being can grow—or we will degenerate.” -Lise van Boxel, Warspeak: Nietzsche’s Victory Over Nihilism

We can’t see it.

But we know it is there.

The battle that rages internally.

Where each and every day, we must make a choice.

The choice to grow or the choice to degenerate.

These decisions compound and become habitual. Before you recognize it, it is too late.

You delay starting a project that truly excites you.

You wait for permission.

You constantly ignore an inner voice, silencing it.

This continues for weeks, months, even years. Your actions lead you to a future that you never imagined.

Yet there you are.

You cannot let this come to pass.

You must make the choice to grow.

Not mere personal growth.

Not business growth.

Not the growth of your network.

Not the growth of your muscles or your intellect.

But growth of your spirit.

The growth of your resolve.

The growth of your will.

The growing into a higher human being. Growing into what you are capable of becoming.

This won’t be easy. If it was, it would be adopted by the masses. It would be more than simple slogans about leaving your comfort zone or getting certified or whatever other foolishness arrives in your inbox or on your social media feed.

No, it will be difficult. Difficult to undertake. Difficult to persist. Difficult to face each and every day. But it will be worth it.

You will not emerge unscathed. You will face losses because you will be lost. You will experience pain.

Ultimately, you will make mistakes.

More than you will care to admit.

But these are necessary for true growth!

“We shall make mistakes; and if we let these mistakes frighten us from our work we shall show ourselves weaklings.”-Theodore Roosevelt

True growth is a requirement and yet our society doesn’t want growth.

Why?

Our society praises safety and certainty. It offers up pleasures and ease.

Growth on the other hand is painful. It leads to uncomfortable thoughts and even more uncomfortable questions. These questions are in conflict with the status quo. Yet these are essential for you to reach your true potential.

Understand that if you aren’t growing, you are degenerating. You are becoming weak.

Physically and mentally.

A choice to remain in bed and asleep at life, to sign in to social media, endlessly scroll, endlessly comment, endlessly waste time, is behavior that leads to degeneration.

Lost time.

Lost opportunity.

Lost life.

But a choice to wake up and seize the day, to leave the excuses behind, to go after what you want in spite of the difficulties and inevitable obstacles that line your path, that is behavior that leads to growth.

Growth that changes you in the long term.

You won’t see it immediately but it is there.

Deep beneath the surface. Every setback. Every denial. Every unanswered email or call.

Transforming you.

Hardening you.

Growing you into the strong individual that society needs you to be.

The individual that you must become.

Will you choose this growth?

“Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.”-Morihei Ueshiba

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Determine Your Own Growth Path

“If you are ever tempted to look for outside approval, realize that you have compromised your own integrity. If you need a witness, be your own.”-Epictetus

At the end of the day, despite the countless experts, coaches, gurus, speakers, and leaders, only one opinion counts.

Your own.

The only one that can truly judge your own growth is you. However, this is a hard pill for many to swallow. We want to hear from our friends, family, and our followers. We want to know that we are killing it. We want the praise. We want the compliments. We want love. But accepting all of this could stop us in our tracks.

It may lead us to believe that our potential for growth has been reached.

This is foolish.

We all possess an inner compass, one that points to the true north. But this compass is ignored by many. Instead, people arrive at destinations and call it fate. Yet those who follow this compass know the truth. It was their own desire all along that led them there.

Understand that the only voice that matters is the voice within. You must listen to yourself and take control of your life. You must grow at your own rate, never shirking at the difficulties you will face.

This is not as simple as it sounds. You will be plagued by inner doubts.

Can I do this?

Am I capable of this?

Will people believe me?

What if I fail?

Why am I even doing this?

What will they think of me?

But these inner doubts are normal. They are constant companions on the road that you are building, the road of growth, the road that leads to a better tomorrow. Many people cannot listen to these questions. The inner monologue proves too strong. They spend far too long debating with themselves that by the time to act comes, it is too late.

Do not fall prey to such a trap.

You know what you want.

You know what you must do.

You don’t need permission.

Act in your own interest.

Face the growing pains. Face the challenges.

Grow with life, each and every day.

You will be much better off because of it.

I promise.

“Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.”-Abraham Maslow

Shaun

P.S.-Leave a comment on how you are growing toward your goals. It may just be the inspiration our readers need.