“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow.” —Ronald E. Osborn
There will always be opportunities for growth. But taking advantage of them requires going beyond what we already can do.
The problem with this is that stepping in this direction can feel risky. It may not feel safe. Because, of course, we may fail. Or we may find out we’re not that good at what we’re attempting to do.
But this process of growth is part of what it means to be a living being. It’s what living things do.
As babies, for instance, most of us only knew how to do a few things well early on: things like sleeping, crying, feeding, and filling our diapers. Just imagine what it would be like if we decided to stop there, choosing to never go beyond what we already knew how to do.
But we didn’t. We picked up new skills and capacities. We learned to talk, and go to the bathroom on our own, and tie our shoes. But this process didn’t happen automatically without any effort on our part. We had to take steps, regardless of how small, to move beyond what we currently knew and to learn something new.
But in addition to feeling risky, taking steps beyond what we know can be a source of discomfort. This process can stretch us in ways we simply don’t like.
And while this may be the case, the more fundamental question is, Do we truly want to grow? Is there a desire to move beyond where we’re currently at? Because if we want to grow, we’re going to experience discomfort at times.
Pushing our muscles beyond what they can comfortably do forces them to adapt and grow. Reading a hard book, or following a sustained argument, may be exhausting, but can also cause our mind to develop more capacity and dexterity that it currently has.
The same principle holds true in all areas of life. A little stretching, a little stress, while not comfortable in the moment, can also be a catalyst for longer-term growth.
Staying where we’re at may feel safe. Not trying to go beyond what we already know may seem the easy route. But this approach is also the way to stagnation. Because just like the muscles of our bodies, unless we’re regularly stretched in what we attempt to do, we won’t grow.