Hello dear friend, and welcome to this joyride of straight talk. Let’s talk about all things ‘growth’.
I never saw myself as a self help writer, but I’ll take one for the team and do this for us.
There are many Blogs in me, but this is the one I’d like to meet you with first. This is also the one that I hope will help you meet you.
If you’re one of those people who looks the other way sheepishly when given a self help book (cause you’ll never read it) … then I urge you to think of this as nothing more than a chat and cuppa with a friend who cares deeply about you.
And if you’re at the other end of the spectrum and like to get high on your own supply of self help… then I urge you to think of this blog as nothing less than a different but valuable take on what you may have already consumed.
Either ways,
Jump on this happy journey with an open heart and a mind that’s free,
Lend me your ears, and I’ll help you see
That you’re so much more than you think you can be!
This blog is not going to change your life.
Just like winning 27 million dollars in the lottery didn’t change David Edward Lee’s life. 5 years after the magnificent win, he was dead broke again.
Or, just like losing everything overnight didn’t change Martha Stewart’s life either as she bounced back post prison to find herself much wealthier and more well known than her previous self.
The so called ‘life changing’ events in both cases, may have changed the way they lived temporarily, but it sure as hell didn’t change their lives. Stick with me. These cataclysmic events may have shook their world but their paths were reset to align with who they were and what they knew before the event took place.
In the first case, what should have been a dream come true turned into a nightmare. And in the second case, a nightmare was resurrected into a dream life again.
One didn’t have the know-how on how to manage a gain so big, and the other one knew how to pick up the pieces from a humongous loss.
And so the event didn’t really change their lives.
Because it didn’t change who they were.
David Lee who promised to spend his money wisely and save it, was never exposed before to a rich mans life and made decisions that led to his doom. Martha, who had created abundance once, had the tools and resilience to create it again.
The poor man never had money and didn’t know what to do with it. The rich girl never had lack, and didn’t know how to live with it. So he lost the money he gained, and she gained the money she lost.
Perhaps if David got himself a Mentor or learnt some money managing skills or had some wealthy friends to teach him, or even did his homework himself – maybe his 27 million would’ve become much more and he would be alive beyond the age of 58 to see it.
On the flipside, if Martha allowed her losses and bad decisions to define her worth and herself, perhaps she would’ve believed her way into being and staying broke.
This isn’t about money. Or the lack of. Or whether these people were good or bad or grey like all of us.
This is about a simple realisation that’s had a profound impact on my life.
That money comes and money goes. Just as friends do. They come and go. Just like the sun does. It comes and goes everyday. So does the rain. Just as luck does. It comes and goes. Just like tragedy does. Just like glory and fame and all things that came. One day, they all go away.
And the only thing that stays, through the midst of all this coming and going, the centre of all this loss and gain, through all the good times and the bad times that may be… the only thing that stays… is ME!
And so, this blog won’t change your life.
But I’m hoping, in some small way, that it does change you!
What’s the difference between an adult and a child?
It’s that the Adult stops growing!
I sat in bewilderment watching my 8 month old baby girl twirl and twist her tongue spurting chunks of saliva all over herself as she smacked her lips and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth trying to talk. She discovered her voice a few months ago and was now discovering how her voice created different sounds when her tongue and mouth moved differently.
I stirred my coffee and took it all in, fascinated by this unabashed show of courage and excitement. She was so excited to learn a new skill and so not embarrassed by how ridiculous she looked while learning it. Everything looks cute on a baby though. But she doesn’t know that.
A new development, a comfort habit (thumb sucking), a copied mannerism – children are always picking things up, exploring and growing without shame. Every time she was overly cranky and clingy, I read that she was going through a growth spurt.
How beautiful is it that growth comes with pain, even in a baby. Growing pains. The problem is that when we grow up, we think that our growing is done.
It never is, and it never will be.
Your growth doesn’t stop.
If you stop a river from flowing, you get stagnant water that grows moss. Oh dam! Break it down. It doesn’t matter if you’re 23 or 47 or 69 or 96. The damn can be broken and the river will flow again serving beauty and nourishment to every valley willing to accept it. And when its life as a river is over, and it merges with the eternal ocean, it will know it gave life to many a fish, and traveller, and thirsty plant on its path.
You still have a choice to flow.
Notice I used the word choice and not chance.
Because growth takes work.
‘work = activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.’
This is why I find this quote silly – ‘do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.’
Anyone who’s married knows that they ‘do’ what they love (sometimes more than once a week) but marriage still takes work. Pardon the below the belt humour (literally), but loving what you do (or who you do) doesn’t take the essence of ‘work’ out of the process.
Relationships take work. A business takes work. A job takes work. A friendship takes work. Growth takes work – knowing, growing and loving yourself takes work.
But the work, is worth it.
I’m so happy you’re here!
Much Love, Kanika
Tell me what you think about ‘Growth’ in the comments below!
Read the latest blog articles here.
KANIKA BATRA
Chief Storyteller
I’m Kanika. Think of me as your companion on your journey to being better, your guide on the side, with the goal to help you know yourself, grow yourself and love yourself more deeply!
You can my latest blog articles here.
