Leveling Up

“Everything feels difficult when you’re about to level up” (unknown)

I was never really a gamer. Probably unprocessed resentment from when my mom bought me a game system in third grade and then proceeded to monopolize it herself. Someday a therapist will sit me down and ask me how it made me feel to watch her play Tetris endlessly on MY Nintendo. And then bill me a couple hundred dollars for the exercise.

I was never really a gamer, but while “leveling up” is a gaming metaphor, it is certainly not a gaming concept alone. We experience it throughout our lives. In our skills, our hobbies, our schooling and our careers. And really, “everything feels difficult when you’re about to level up” isn’t that disparate a statement from “it’s always darkest before dawn,” is it?

Just as a child experiences literal “growing pains” before a physical growth spurt, we all experience “growing pains” before a spiritual or intellectual growth spurt. Whether you look at these “difficult” times as a growth spurt, or a Phoenix-life death and rebirth cycle doesn’t really matter. We all have them.

“And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anaïs Nin

It works both ways. You know you’re ready to “level up” when there is pain associated with maintaining the status quo. Pain could be as simple as utter boredom, or it could be as graphic as a floundering business. Likewise, you know you’re ready to “level up” when things seem to get increasingly difficult, when challenges suddenly surround you on all sides. It’s time to defeat the “boss” and move forward on your journey.

You’re ready to level up because you’re LOOKING for these challenges. You’re YEARNING for this growth. You are READY, despite any trepidation you might feel. Remember, you have already succeeded in seeking out these challenges and opportunities to grow.

In the moment, “leveling up” can be ridiculously terrifying. Fear of pain. Fear of failure. Fear of destruction. These fears can freeze us in our tracks, seducing us with a siren’s song full of verses about how maintaining the status quo would be much easier, much more comfortable, much safer. When it comes to personal growth, there are times I don’t WANT to level up. That’s a lot of work and strife, dangit!

And yet, that moment inevitably comes when the risk to remain tight in a bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom, no?

Not that every person or company or effort wants to be a flower, of course. But we do all desire to bloom, right? We all want to be the best version of ourselves. We all want our businesses to flourish. We all want our efforts to explode into success.

So.

Are you finding yourself yearning to grow? Do you feel cramped like you need to stretch? Are you noticing impending growing pains or fantasizing about how your business can bloom?

It’s time to level up!