How to Recognise Your Growth When You Feel Stuck
Most people don’t realise how many versions of themselves they’ve already left behind.
The person you were five years ago isn’t the same woman reading this now. You’ve changed in quiet, powerful ways. You’ve walked through seasons that could have broken you, but somehow, they built you instead.
Because you live with yourself every day, it’s easy to miss it. Growth rarely arrives with fireworks or fanfare. It happens slowly, in moments when you choose calm instead of chaos, faith instead of fear, and peace instead of proving yourself.
So if you feel like you haven’t moved forward, pause. You’re not stuck. You’re growing in ways you can’t always see.
The Quiet Evolution of Personal Growth
We often picture personal growth as a sudden transformation, a big decision, a new beginning, or a bold change. But in truth, it happens quietly.
Growth is how you respond differently now to what used to overwhelm you.
It’s how you forgive faster, let go easier, and speak to yourself with a little more compassion.
You don’t wake up one morning and feel brand new. You change slowly, like sunrise softening the sky. One day, you’ll look back and realise that even your silence, your surrender, and your survival were forms of progress.
Growth Is Subtle, Not Sudden
You may not notice it day by day, but every challenge has stretched your patience and shaped your perspective. Each time you’ve chosen to keep going when you didn’t have the strength, that was growth.
There’s beauty in that kind of quiet evolution, the kind that doesn’t need recognition, only reflection.
Letting Go of Who You Were
It’s natural to feel grief when parts of you change. You’ve outgrown people, dreams, and even identities that once felt like forever. That’s emotional growth. It’s learning that not everything is meant to last, and that’s okay.
The People and Versions You’ve Outgrown
There was a time when certain friendships or habits felt right. They comforted you, defined you, or helped you survive a season. But as you healed and learned, some things no longer fit.
That’s not failure. That’s growth.
You’re allowed to thank old versions of yourself for getting you this far, and then gently let them go.
Who you were wasn’t wrong. She was just necessary for the chapter you were in.
Self Reflection Helps You See How Far You’ve Come
Because change happens gradually, it’s easy to forget just how far you’ve come. Self reflection is how we reconnect with the truth of our progress.
Sometimes that means journaling your thoughts, sitting quietly before bed, or whispering a small prayer of gratitude for how much you’ve survived. Reflection reminds you that growth isn’t measured by success, it’s measured by softness, strength, and surrender.
How to Honour Your Journey
Take a moment this week to pause and remember her, the you from five years ago.
What was she praying for? What was she afraid of?
If only she could see you now. She’d be proud of how you carried yourself through moments that felt impossible.
You can honour your journey in simple ways:
Write a letter to your past self
Make a list of things you’ve overcome
Celebrate a small win you once prayed for
Say Alhamdulillah for how much you’ve learned
Every small act of reflection is a way of saying, I see how far I’ve come, and I’m grateful.
The Beauty of Who You’re Becoming
This version of you, right here, right now, is still becoming.
You’re not finished, and you were never meant to be. Growth doesn’t mean reaching perfection, it means returning to yourself again and again, with more gentleness each time.
Even when it feels slow, trust that change is unfolding exactly as it should.
Trusting Allah’s Timing in Your Growth
There’s a reason some prayers are delayed, some seasons are quiet, and some doors close before you’re ready. Growth often happens in the waiting.
Sometimes what feels like a setback is really protection. What feels like stillness is preparation.
Allah sees your effort, even when no one else does. And in His timing, everything will make sense.
Keep Becoming, You’re Doing Better Than You Think
You may not be where you want to be, but you’re also not where you were.
And that’s something to be deeply proud of.
Keep learning, keep softening, keep trusting that every version of you, past, present, and future, was needed for your story.
Growth isn’t loud. It’s lived quietly, one choice, one breath, one prayer at a time.
So keep becoming. You’re doing better than you think.
Growth is easier when you’re surrounded by hearts that understand. Join us at Sojourn Mother & Child for weekly reflections that remind you of your strength, your softness, and your purpose.
