The Key to Spiritual Growth
Have you lost touch with your spiritual side? If you're like most people, the answer is probably yes. With everything happening around us, drifting away from that part of ourselves comes naturally, and holding onto it gets harder when the world you're standing in feels like it's falling apart. The good news is that spiritual growth becomes easier once you add a single ingredient to your days: contentment, both with your life and with the person you are. Below are eleven habits worth practicing if you want that contentment and the growth that follows.
Start with your thoughts and feelings, because whatever you allow into your mind ends up steering how you feel. Upset turns into anger. Anger blocks contentment. And without contentment, growth stalls. When a negative thought shows up, redirect it toward something calm or positive instead of sitting with it. That kind of steering, practiced over and over, is what lets you settle into your own life.
Keep your mind, heart, and soul open. Shut the mind off from the good things and the heart and soul close right behind it. Negativity is corrosive; it eats away at all three and quietly takes your contentment with it. Build a life around it and your growth slows to a crawl. Leave the door open for positivity instead, since that's the only place contentment can actually live.
Negativity has no place here. You can't grow spiritually while your days are soaked in it, and you certainly can't feel content when negative thinking has the upper hand. Loosen its grip through relaxation and meditation. Sit with the positive long enough and the discontent starts to empty out on its own.
Go slowly. None of this arrives overnight; growth needs room and time to take root. Begin by releasing the negativity you've been carrying. Remind yourself that your feelings are yours to manage. Practice being content whatever the circumstances happen to be. The small things you do today become the long strides you take later.
Feed your spirit. A worn-out spirit leaves you with a weak mind, and a weak mind is exactly where negative thoughts move in and take over. So recharge daily. Walk somewhere quiet. Put your thoughts down in a journal. A spirit that has energy is a spirit that finds both contentment and room to grow.
Don't give up on yourself. Quitting on yourself is about the worst move you can make. You might decide contentment and spiritual growth simply aren't in the cards for you, but believing that is what guarantees it. Give up and you're giving up on a calmer, more settled life. You are worth the effort, and every single day you make one positive change, you're growing.
Let each day stand on its own as a fresh start. Treat every morning that way and your whole path becomes one too. Set the past down, allow yourself to begin again, and live contented.
Meditate every day. It's how you let the negativity go, and letting go of negative thoughts and actions is the price of admission for growth. Meditation opens the door to contentment.
Picture what growth looks like for you. When you can see it clearly, you can start adjusting your life to match. Imagine yourself at ease rather than restless. Imagine what becomes possible once the negativity is cleared out and positivity takes its place.
Remember that the only thing standing between you and spiritual growth is you. Finding contentment surrounded by negativity is far from an easy road, but the walking is worth it.
And when nothing else works, talk to someone you trust. Putting your troubles into words helps you move past the rough patches and the roadblocks. The negativity will still come. You'll still get through it.