The Uncertainty That Growth Brings Along

PRATIMA SHARMA

It has to be rare when someone says they are happy where they are, accepting everything just as it should be. But, as I look deep within the human heart, we all desire to move forward, wanting to understand what lies beyond where we are, knowing that's not the end of things. So I sit by and try to understand, does growth always feel scary? Is uncertainty signalling the high standards that we put on ourselves, causing baggage of heaviness that's more than what we can carry? Or is it that we never really know what we are up for?

Are you also finding yourself at a point where you know that one decision was important, but when you make it there, you find yourself feeling weak internally, as if you don't trust yourself anymore, wanting to go back to where you were, not because that place was great, but because you are running away from unfamiliarity?

Our mind has always found comfort in familiarity be it a place, a person, a situation or an environment. We know how to respond there, what to expect, and how things usually unfold. But the moment we step into something that's new, everything feels uncertain. We begin questioning ourselves, wondering if we really belong there. Not for the choice we made, but for the new beginning we chose that asks us to adjust, learn, and trust ourselves in ways we never had to before. And trust me, that's why growth often feels much heavier than we imagined, it isn't taking us backwards; it's teaching us how to become familiar with a life we have never lived before.

Who doesn't feel anxious? Beyond the professional world, we all are humans first, with the same amount of sensitivity, emotions, and feelings, but we suppress them so much that we feel like a failure when we are exposed to new situations. It's definitely hard to see it clearly, questioning whether we really made a great decision, constantly self-monitoring ourselves, wanting the same comfort despite yearning for growth for so long. Maybe this is what makes us human.

To every heart feeling heavy, scared, or having the feeling that, "I don't know anything. Maybe I don't belong here," questioning the path of dreaming big, congratulations on taking that step, that one decision that's going to take you so far. We all go through this. Remember, the place where you found comfort was also an uncomfortable one once. So it's okay to feel unready and shaky. Let's sit with those emotions and try to be gentle with our hearts, letting them understand that things take time to settle and feel normal again.