#133 There is no graduation from personal growth

Schools have graduations

Schools have graduations.

You graduate from elementary school,
graduate from middle school,
graduate from high school,
and graduate from university.

Because there are milestones,
it is easy to feel that you have done your best up to that point.

However, it is a little different once you become a working adult.

Even if there is an end to a job,
there is no clear graduation for life itself.

That is why I sometimes wonder.

Is there such a thing as graduation from personal growth?

Professional growth is easy to see

Growth at work is relatively easy to see.

You can handle more tasks.
You have achieved results.
You have been promoted.
The scope of your responsibilities has expanded.

This kind of growth is easy for others to see as well.

Of course, I think that is important.

However, if you ask me if that alone means you are growing as a person,
I feel it is a little different.

Personal growth cannot be scored

Personal growth is quite difficult to see.

For example,

Learning to listen to others until they finish speaking.
Learning to let go of the need to be right.
Learning to imagine the background of others.
Learning to accept one's own weaknesses.
Learning to pause instead of being swayed by emotions.

These kinds of changes do not come with a score.

But in life, they are quite significant.

In fact,
this kind of growth might be what becomes more important as we age.

The older you get, the harder it is to see growth

When we were children, growth was easy to see.

We grew taller.
We could do more things.
We moved up to a new grade.

But as adults,
growth becomes much quieter.

You don't change suddenly from yesterday to today.

But you notice it in unexpected moments.

Things that would have made you angry before,
you can now accept.

Things that would have made you depressed before,
you can now use as fuel for the future.

Things you couldn't say before,
you can now say just a little bit.

I believe that the accumulation of these small changes
is what personal growth is.

What kind of adult do you want to be?

When thinking about personal growth,
you eventually return to this question.

What kind of adult do I want to be?

Do I want to be an amazing person?
Do I want to be an important person?
Do I want to be a respected person?

When I think about it more deeply,
I feel that what I truly want to aim for
is not a title or recognition.

Someone who does not treat others carelessly.
Someone who can speak in their own words.
Someone who can believe in the potential of others.
Someone who can face things again even after failing.
Someone who can keep learning regardless of age.

I want to be that kind of person.

Because there is no graduation from growth, it is interesting.

If there were a graduation from personal growth,
I feel it would be a bit lonely.

No more need to learn.
No more need to change.
Already complete.

The moment that happens,
I feel the excitement of life would fade a little.

People are never complete.

That is precisely why
we worry, we get lost, and we fail.

But at the same time,
there is still room to change.

It is because we are incomplete that life continues.

Finally

There is no graduation from personal growth.

Sometimes there is no clear evaluation like in work.
There are also changes that no one notices.

Even so,
within myself, I have certainly changed.

I became a little kinder.
I became a little more honest.
I became able to believe in people a little more.
I became able to accept myself a little more.

I want to continue to cherish
those small growths.

Life may not be about aiming for completion,
but about continuing to nurture the person you are little by little.
perhaps.