Growth is not something that is just physical; growth is also emotional. Prosperity and elevating yourself should be something that everyone wants, something people strive to accomplish. However, honestly, growth really has no ceiling.

It’s sort of like what I wrote a few weeks ago in my blog about change, but the only difference here is “growth” refers to a more positive aspect. People’s views on things can change constantly, and it’s ultimately up to them whether it’s positive or negative. The things we get ourselves involved in, the people we choose to hang out with, and our interest can affect our growth as well. We must find a structure, something in our lives that will guide us and lead us in the right direction. For me, it will always be God and his word.

American anthropologist, educator and writer Loren Eiseley once said, “To grow is to gain, an enlargement of life…Yet it is also a departure. There is something lost that will not return.”

Humanity must learn to live life as a continuous advance. Yes, things will get hard, you will bump heads with people and you may not want to move forward. However, we all must understand that the road to happiness and growth is not a straight path.

In other words, we must learn to be grateful, to be slow to anger and frustration and live every day better than the previous one.

Without even realizing it, since our young days, we were all put into places that were made to help us grow, but sadly, because of how drastically our society has changed, the meaning of those places have changed tremendously.

Example?

High school. High school was a place designed first for education, also to prepare teenagers for the real world, to make something of themselves. Also, it was created to build character, to begin to accept responsibility with some of the freedoms given.

What is high school now? High school is, for the most part, a social gathering, a fashion show, or just another intrusion from a day of video games. Not many students think of actually learning and comprehending single cell anemia in Biology 101, but rather focus on passing the weekly quiz so that mom or dad does not yell at them or ground them when they get home.

We must find what drives us in life, and think about the changes we must make in our lives to make an impact. The impact does not always have to be on the world, or your community, school, or even your friend group. It can just be one person, a stranger. Impacting one person can then encourage you to do that for many, to share your story and help slowly influence your friend group, and your community, and maybe one day the world.

Many of you know that I am a college student-athlete at Graceland University. I am a track and field athlete (Long/Triple Jumper). On October 14, 2014, I suffered a torn ACL while in practice. For those who don’t know, a torn ACL is an injury to the knee which requires surgery and a six- to nine-month recovery, automatically putting me on the sideline my whole freshman year as an athlete.

Playing sports all my life and never having a injury, this was something entirely new to me. I had surgery on November 13, 2014 and for six days straight I was on bed rest. I could not move my lower body, get out of bed, nothing. Five nights straight I cried myself to sleep, I lost confidence in myself, in my ability not only as an athlete, but as a person. I felt worthless. Those days I questioned why I was even alive. It was my first experience with depression.

But then, I began to remember all the accomplishments as a “tracklete,” the positive energy I put into it and also the lives that I touched. In high school I began running track my junior year, and only in my second year, my senior year, I won countless meets, broke a school record that stood for over 25 years, and won a state championship.

People saw how hard I worked to get to that point, the energy and drive and effort, and people liked to see that. I always say people have the power of influence, and setting a good example for those around you can help change others to be like you.

On the seventh day of me laying in bed, I began to realize this, and It inspired me to not dwell on my unfortunate situation, but to look towards the future and work just as hard to get back to that point. That was the moment when I began to GROW, to grow as an individual emotionally with a mindset of success.

It’s something as little as that that can change a person’s life. Growing older is something that is as inevitable as death. It is not up to us whether we will grow in age, but we can control how we embrace our never-ending journey.

The simple message is to surround yourself with positivity, good vibes with people, good energy, and a heart ready to grow.

God is everything. Knowledge is power. Positivity is key.