Alternate Perceptions Magazine, February 2026
Allowing Yourself to Experience Growth
By: Stan Prachniak
We all experience different types of growth throughout our lives. There are outwardly noticeable examples like physical growth, and not-so-obvious examples like emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social and psychological growth. Almost everyone experiences each of these types of growth at least once in their lifetime. However, it is more common for people to experience different degrees and types of growth many times in their life. For example, intellectual growth usually occurs as a person progresses through the education system, ideally experiencing intellectual growth each time they progress to the next grade level. Some people choose to continue this growth by attending college and beyond, while others choose to take other paths. There are countless reasons for peoples’ decisions related to growth and how they will achieve it, but there is one commonality that frequently appears no matter the desired type of growth—doubt and/or fear of failure.
Many people doubt their ability to make personal changes they want to make, and that doubt hinders a person’s ability to experience growth. People often focus on potential obstacles and become “stuck” in their current state. Doubting oneself or being doubted by others chips away at self-confidence and effectively stunts potential for growth. Discovering and employing ways to shut down doubt as soon as it invades your mind will allow you to experience the growth that you desire. Along your journey, you will face challenges that can introduce feelings of doubt, but you can’t dwell on those feelings. You can choose to remove the influence that doubt has over you. In a previous article, I talked about turning “can’t” into “how can I?” Approaching challenges utilizing a growth mindset can help you re-frame feelings of defeat or despair into feelings of hope and possibility.
Establishing a growth mindset is a key component of allowing yourself to grow in all of the ways you wish to grow. An important first step is to define the ways in which you would like to grow (spiritual, intellectual, social, etc.), then identify any doubts you may have related to this desired growth. At this point, if you are employing a growth mindset you should begin to problem solve instead of giving in to any feelings of doubt. Challenge yourself to find a way around this obstacle. Look for inspiration through others’ experiences—you are likely not the only person to face the challenges you are facing. You are capable of much more than you might think.
Accepting that you want to become a better version of yourself and understanding that lasting change comes with challenges will enable you to take the necessary steps to defeat feelings of doubt and insecurity, and allow you to experience the growth you desire.
Freedom To Change offers a way for you to experience personal growth by choosing to problem solve and challenge your doubts, fears, and insecurities in order to overcome obstacles that can hinder your progress. For more information on the Freedom2Change materials, visit www.freedom2change.org
