THE PRESSURE TO STAY AS YOU ARE

YOU NEED TO KNOW

CHOOSING SERIOUS PERSONAL GROWTH CAN TRIGGER A HOSTILE REACTION

When you are serious about personal growth, there is also the underlying fear of being seen by others as self-centered, arrogant, and living a life’s that extraordinary and hence unacceptable.

You need to know that many people reserve a special kind of ridicule and resentment against those who are more successful or talented than the majority. There is a lot of pressure to conform, as mediocrity is granted more acceptance. Giftedness often means being differentiated to the point of isolation and standing out can mean getting shot down more easily because the target is clearer that way. 

It is understandable why many people would prefer succumbing to a simple life meeting their basic needs, and actually being rewarded by those around them for it, instead of battling it out in the bloody road towards self-actualization. If you do dare to embrace serious personal growth and change, you can expect that others will criticize you or even think you are crazy when you begin to move into uncharted, untried directions.

When you go against convention, when you change your mind about who you are, those who know you in one way may be loath to watch you change into someone else with whom they share little in common or someone who challenges their comforts, habits and values. You can easily find yourself feeling isolated, misunderstood or unhappy in their company as well. 

In these transitions, you are alone.  If you cling too tenaciously to the approval of family and friends, and you need their approval more than you need your healthiest ideas or behaviors, then you risk trading in the possibility of a richer fuller life in order to stay more acceptable to them. If you do cling too closely to what others think of you, you should know, in advance, that any serious personal growth will probably be in jeopardy.