The third quarter of 2024 was all about navigating discomfort and finding growth on the other side. These months forced me to face hard truths, lean into courage, and accept that change—whether personal or professional—takes time. Growth doesn’t come from avoiding discomfort; it comes from embracing it and allowing yourself the grace to evolve.
July: Therapy is hard.
As helpful as therapy has been, I can’t pretend it’s always something I look forward to. I’ve held (and still hold) a lot of resentment about my birth experience with the twins, and their hospitalization last year turned us into hermits, constantly feeling like the world was dangerous for our babies. My therapist has made me sit with some of the most anxiety-inducing, stressful, and painful moments of my life. There have been weeks when I’ve dreaded my appointment.
I feel like I could talk to her forever, but our first focus was preparing me for the anniversaries of the complicated birth and hospitalization. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m so glad I’ve been putting in the work. My kids deserve a mom who can handle her complicated emotions—and dammit, I deserve that freedom, too.
August: It’s better to speak up and be wrong than stay silent and be right.
In August, I faced a complicated situation at work that taught me an invaluable lesson. A colleague shared something with me that surprised and unsettled me. It could have been a bad joke or an exaggeration, but I couldn’t shake it. After hours of second-guessing myself, I finally texted my leader that night to share my concerns. She listened, validated my perspective, and encouraged me to act.
I brought others into the conversation and explained why I felt it was necessary to investigate. In the end, it turned out to be a lapse in judgment on my coworker’s part—but I’m proud I spoke up. I stayed true to myself by honoring my thought process and emotions. I’m a deep thinker, a critical thinker, and I trust my intuition. Instead of overthinking, I leaned into those traits and made a decision that prioritized the safety and well-being of my colleague, even though it was uncomfortable.
This experience reminded me that courage isn’t about certainty; it’s about trusting yourself to do what’s right, even when it feels difficult.
September: You can’t return unchanged.
When I returned to work in January, it may have seemed like I was simply picking up where I left off. But the reality was much more complicated. During my time away, I brought twins into the world, nearly lost them to RSV, and faced brushes with death myself. I came back physically present but mentally transformed. My carefully crafted five-year plan had led me to a leadership role I worked so hard to earn—only for it to be gone the week I left for maternity leave. I thought I’d bounce back quickly, but it became clear that “bouncing back” wasn’t an attainable—or even desirable—goal when the person I was returning as had changed so much.
By September, I began to realize that acclimating takes time—and that’s okay. We can’t bounce back to who we were; we must adapt forward to who we’re becoming. It took me a long while to accept that this year wasn’t about reclaiming the version of myself I had been; it was about stepping into who I am now. Growth doesn’t happen on anyone’s timeline but your own. I’ve learned to let go of the idea of “bouncing back” and instead embrace the process of moving forward, even if it’s slower and messier than I expected.
Closing Thoughts: Growth Isn’t Easy, But It’s Worth It
This quarter reminded me that growth and discomfort go hand in hand. Therapy forced me to face hard truths about myself, and speaking up at work taught me the power of trusting my intuition. I also had to accept that returning to a familiar space doesn’t mean returning unchanged—it means finding new ways to thrive.
Stay tuned for lessons learned in Q4, where purpose and presence took center stage. Growth is rarely comfortable, but it’s always meaningful—and this quarter proved just how much is possible when you lean into it.
DEEP ROOTS | FULL BLOOM 