The Three Types of Growth Graphs

­The late twenties of my life, have brought me face to face to one realization. We are all growing in different ways. Even if sometimes life feels stagnant, it is not.

It might sound like a forced positivity to you. In an era, where AI replacement in jobs have cut down half the possibilities for entry-level work experiences, I am one of the freshest victims. Sometimes I wonder whether Artificial Intelligence is really the problem or whether foolish CEOs are. CEOs who think they can eliminate everyone from the industry and run their companies solely through AI.

So, I am not forcing noble thoughts in your head, no. I am just choosing optimism as a life’s standpoint.

However, this article is not about discussing the AI-approved stupidity in the corporate. Will get into that later. This article is for people who feel that they are stuck in some stagnant water, in a muddy web of life, or let’s say in a mire. This article is to make you believe that you may not be able to see your growth, while you are making efforts. But you are no different- no one can. No one can plot their success graph when they are working on it. Unless, you turn your head back and look how far you have come and where you have made it.

Growth Graph One- Steep High

Imagine you have a mountain of hardships in front of you. Every other day, you are walking an extra mile and gasping an extra breath. The more you walk, the steeper it gets. Unlike your fellow batchmates or friends, you have not covered the exact distance you were supposed to. In comparison to them, you are walking at a steeper slope. More efforts, less distance covered. It is a steep slope.

When hardships come, people often get distorted and disappointed. It feels heavy, a constant climbing the mountain is tiring. But what if I told you, you are not just climbing the mountain, you are also getting yourself at a higher ground than where you were. Your batchmates have not faced the ‘mountain of hardships’ and have run a longer distance than you. However, they have not risen above from their starting point. They have run a longer distance; you have made it to a higher elevation. A higher ground. And once the steep high of the mountain ends, you will get to run the plain and smooth ground like them. You can make up for the miles that you are behind, as of now. And even if they still make it before you, you should know- you have crossed the ‘mountain of hardships’, you have overcome the steep high graph of life- you are somewhere far above from where you had begun. And this does not have to be in terms of spirituality or finances only. Some growth graphs are also about character, resilience, determination and discipline.

Steep high has made the first graph in my list. People running in the steep high graph often feel that they are struggling, giving efforts, pushing the walls and yet nothing has been achieved yet. Finances are falling, and so is self-esteem. Time is running out, and so is patience. But dear people running on steep high graph, when you aim for the mountain peak, you have to climb the entire of it. The mid-point waves and halts won’t satisfy you. You are growing, just not the you had expected it.

Growth Graph Two- The Hurdles Race

People who are not born with a silver spoon, are often born with blessings of the moon. Imagine you have planned your route. It seems like a plain track. You know where you are, you can see where you want to get. It is race track. Some people also call it a rat race. Whoever finishes first, wins. But life is not Olympics.

The hurdles race is not only about running fastest of all. It is also about balance. Life is about balance. When Life offers hurdles, there would be instances you leap over it, there would be chances you trample over it. Scratched knees, bruised elbows, failing mindset. But I heard it somewhere, to fail and to accept failure is not the same.

Hurdles often slow down your pace. You had planned things in life by two years and hurdles made you achieve things by five years? You were not resting, you were running. But your growth graph looks like running in a hurdles race. You have to keep your mind and body alert- make quick decision on your next move- that too with precision. It may seem like you are making extra efforts. But the problem with human mindset is, we take hurdles as obstacles and not as halts. As I said, life is not Olympics, you are not running in the same track as everyone else. It is not Olympics. The hurdles come in different sizes, breadth and length. Some people might have got their ‘hurdles’ a bit early in life, some have not got yet. They will. Because even if life may seem unfair to you, time never is. Time has planned the hurdles in other people’s life based on their life expectations and success aspirations. Yours has come based on your expectations and aspirations.

The Hurdles Race is the second growth graph on my list. Because whoever is running on the race track, is running with an inner compass, a north star maybe- to show the light. When hurdles come, with every high jump you make a stronger move in life. You show life and time that your discipline is determined and nothing can stop you. It is a hurdles race. You have no time to look back and check how far you have come- or you will trample, right? But you are not gasping, like the one with a steep high graph. You can slow down, treat the hurdles as a milestone. Take a step back and jump over higher hurdles. It shows you are making it- hurdles are halts, asking you to reassess your next move, next target, next race you wish to run. Hurdles are not obstacles; they are your milestones.

Growth Graph Three- Glide and Rise

Not all of us are climbing a mountain or are running in a plain track that is marked with a set of definite and expected challenges. Some people are challenged by the comfort which life has offered them. The comfort of ‘I can do it tomorrow’. The comfort of ‘I will do this after the trip/game’, The comfort of ‘I got time’. The comfort that glides you down the growth curve and you have to work hard not just to rise above, but also to get back to the position you had started.

The comfort of being able to delay deadlines, The comfort of being able to afford doing things later in life, The comfort of not becoming restless for not having achieved things. Sometimes its not the Universe, Life or Time, it is you and your decisions. You are gliding over the comforts that life has provided to you. Instead of being grateful to where you are, you are wasting your time and energy. Instead of making use of your resources to grow, you are watching reels for hours, you are looking for more refreshments and keep gliding down the hill just because you wish to escape the stagnation of life. Life does have stagnation, but you need to keep working. Gliding in the comfort of life, having no urgencies, having finances to support you is good. Being able to find an escape from headaches and stagnation is a blessing. However, escapism is a pause, not a solution. It is fine if you went out for a trip, had fun, pushed back the job hunt or did not practice. Ofcourse you were doing something instead which seemed more important. But how long? When will you find the restraint from where you focus on rising above the ground except for gliding in it?

Glide and Rise is my third growth graph. It is tricky. It is full of procrastination. To overcome this, it requires a lot of discipline and inner motivation. The voluntary charge of coming out from- ‘I may not do it, I am not bound do’ to becoming, ‘I need to do it, I am supposed to’ is journey not everyone can lead on. It needs a lot of discipline in character to succeed and work hard when all you could do is keeping gliding on your ancestral wealth and the comfort life has offered you. People born with silver spoon, have to work hard to not become a looney tune. However, enough of roasting! If you are gliding- keep a momentum which helps you to rise above without much delay and with less efforts. You should not be trampling down so much in your ‘I can afford to have fun’, that it takes months and years to just get back from where you had begun. If your growth graph looks like glide and rise- you are lucky. Make use of it. Instead of asking ‘when do I have time?’, make some time for yourself, and see life responding to you the same.

#PS

The three growth graphs are not career bound. They are not bound to your ethnicity and social standing. Any professional, any artists, any person belonging to any class of the society can have one of the growth graphs.

 Your growth graph is shaped by where you want to reach (expectation), what approach do you have (mindset), and what actions are you taking (discipline) to get there.

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