Change can be painful, and so can growth. Yet both are necessary if we’re ever to become who we’re meant to be.
Voluntary versus Involuntary
Sometimes, the changes that support our growth are voluntary. A decision to relocate, change jobs, or take courses to expand our knowledge are all examples of decisive changes we can make to enhance our growth. But many of the changes we go through in life are involuntary, and they begin long before we ever take our first breath.
Growth begins long before we ever open our eyes. Even in the womb, change is shaping us—cells dividing, bones forming, a heartbeat learning its rhythm. From the moment we enter the world, growth becomes a series of small disruptions. Teething hurts. Learning to walk comes with bruises. Adolescence stretches us in ways that ache far beyond the physical. And adulthood brings its own kind of growing pains—shifts in identity, relationships, priorities, and purpose. Change doesn’t wait for old age. It begins at birth and follows us through every season of life, reshaping us again and again.
Growing Pains
The reality behind the myth of “growing pains” is that growth itself isn’t what hurts—adjustment is. Bones don’t ache because they’re lengthening; they ache because the body is learning a new shape. The same is true emotionally. We don’t hurt because we’re changing. We hurt because we’re letting go of what was familiar. Every new stage of life asks us to stretch, and stretching, by its nature, is uncomfortable. Yet, the total relaxation of the muscles after a stretch can feel quite pleasant.
There’s no growth without change, and no change without growth. They walk together from our first breath to our last—reminding us that discomfort is often the doorway to becoming.
When in your life has change caused you pain, and what growth emerged from the experience? I’d like to know. You’re welcome to leave a comment.