Whatever you need to do to grow, do it. Growth doesn’t always come easy, in fact, if you really want to grow in the right direction, then you need to reach out and extend yourself.
I learned this lesson visibly during my drive through West Virginia this past Sunday. I noticed that on every rocky mountain cliff lining the highway, there were tiny trees growing upwards. I couldn’t figure out how a tree should survive in an environment like slate rock that is not meant to have plants sprouting, but survive and thrive they did. These determined mountainside trees actually sprouted through the cracks in the rock walls and grew sideways, as if they were desperately reaching up towards the sun. Without such an adaptation, they wouldn’t have had any standing chance of establishing their roots in the shadows of where they sprouted, but grow they did because they reached out for the resource of sunlight that they needed to flourish.
Reach out and extend yourself towards the light in a similar way to these unlikely mountain rock trees. You have tremendous potential to grow if you aren’t afraid to stick out, be uncomfortable, be different, and embrace change. Stretch yourself towards the sunlight and you will find the opportunities for growth for which you are thirsting.