Throughout childhood, and even now as a young adult, my mother has always emphasized how everything I experience and get upset about can be attributed to growing pains. I never fully understood the concept of growing pains until very recently though.
What she meant by growing pains is that I am constantly evolving and learning new things through every situation and experience. The growing pains stem from my learning how to deal with constant changes. She always taught me that growing pains weren’t bad things; here are some reasons why I have started to believe her.
1. They mean you’re putting yourself out there
When you put yourself out there and growing up, you are doing something that involves going outside of your comfort zone. Until recently, I was terrified about stepping an inch out of my comfort zone because of my consistent fear of the unknown.
The fear of the unknown is something that scares everyone to some extent. We don’t like not being able to everything that happens in our lives. That fact scares some of us more than others. To my chagrin, it scares me a whole lot.
Growing pains happen when you do something to change your life from where you are right now. Not every change is necessarily going to be a positive one. With every change you come across, you learn something new—even if the experience is not a good one.
2. You’re moving forward
This is a good thing! It is something that should be celebrated. Maybe you’re moving forward from a breakup or a lost friendship. Maybe you’re moving forward with work. Whatever the case may be, your life is changing. Even if the changes are negative, there is always something positive to be found within them.
Every change is a new start. Every change is a new beginning in which you have the power to change something that you don’t like. Maybe you were in an abusive relationship and you’ve finally got away from the person.
Life without that person is going to be difficult for a while. However, the pain you feel from the loss, even if it is not an actual loss, means that you are growing stronger than you were before.
3. You’re learning how the world works
Most of the growing pains that happen occur when you are separated from your friends and family who, to some extent, share your thoughts and ideas. Moving away from them gives you a chance to learn about how other people think and react to situations. This helps you learn how to cope with various reactions to the ways of the world.
Not everyone will have the same ideas as you. That is something that my mom has always taught me. Not everyone is going to like me, and there are going to be people out there who don’t agree with the things I say or the beliefs I have.
What I’ve learned, though, is that there is nothing wrong with people not liking me. There are always going to be people on my side and people who are not on my side.
4. You’re becoming more confident
The more confident and comfortable you are with yourself, the more the world will start to throw at you. This isn’t a bad thing in the slightest because it will show you how much you are able to take. It shows you how strong you’re really becoming.
Becoming more confident with yourself and your ideas shows that you are not as focused on the people around you who are not there to support you. As you get older, you start to learn more about how to focus on the people in your life who will focus on you as well.
You know your ideas and thoughts have worth, and you’re not going to let anyone take that away from you. The road to becoming more confident is tough because people will try to tear you down every step of the way. How you react to these digs shows you how much you’ve progressed.
Growing pains are a normal part of life. Life experiences tend to change your point of view. As you get older, you start to realize that not everyone thinks the same way you do, and people aren’t always going to like what you have to say. This is why you have to be comfortable and confident with yourself.
It takes a lot to become the person you’re meant to be. There is a road to travel to get to that point. It’s not always easy to accept who you are, but it’s going to be worth it in the end.
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