Flying is a curious thing.
Once you’re at cruising altitude, it feels as if you’re on a direct path toward your destination. Flying in a straight line would seem to be the fastest and most efficient way to get there.
But planes aren’t actually flying on a direct path at all. Instead, they fly like a kid heaving a bowling ball down a lane with the bumpers up. Fly left, bounce right. Fly right, bounce left. Merrily making its way directionally toward its destination, just not precisely.
Like flying, we have a misreading of how growth happens as well.
Growth by its very nature requires difficult situations, moments, and stretches in life. The dichotomy of life runs throughout all of it, and growth is no different. The pain opens up space for joy. The struggle opens up space for appreciation.
What keeps us directionally headed toward that best version of ourselves is our habits - the bumpers that nudge us back toward our destination.
Good habits are the kind that are worth our energy to adopt because of the dividends they pay back to us over a long arc of time. They narrow how far off course the natural bent of our lives will take us, and give us the energy and momentum needed to bounce back toward center. They don’t just do this in the hard times either. They keep us centered through our peaks as well.
When we think of growth as a zig zag more than a straight line, it takes the pressure off of self-imposed standards, and makes room for a more nuanced and forgiving approach to growth.
Direction, not perfection.
And put the dang bumpers up.
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