A Lesson in Personal Growth from My Mom's Ponytail Palm (Summer Shift Week 6)

You're trying to grow into a different version of yourself.

And yet, the very place you are, the very people you hang out with, the very place that you live in no longer fits.

It's like a plant that's trying to grow, that's trying to expand into a tree, and yet it's still in a little pot.

And therefore, it doesn't have an opportunity to grow.

My friend, if this is you, well, today's episode is for you.

Because today is week number six in our 12-week summer shift series here on Grit Grace and Inspiration.

I am your host, Kevin Lowe.

This is episode 452 of Grit Grace and Inspiration.

And yes, my friend, we are talking about growing, expanding beyond the limits of the pot.

Now, today specifically, I'm gonna tell you the story about a ponytail palm.

Now, this isn't just any ordinary ponytail palm.

This is my mom's ponytail palm, a palm tree that is as old as I am.

I think it's actually older than I am.

And yeah, this thing has been around the block a time or two.

It's moved from homes, it's been transferred from pots to different pots, plastic ones, beautiful ceramic ones.

And all the while, along this journey, this ponytail palm has made it through the seasons.

It's weathered the storm, it's had some seasons when it's been forgotten about, dumped over, left in the woods.

And it's had other seasons where it's been given what it needs to grow and to become what it was meant to be.

Now, what was really cool was one year, one summer, my mom decided to take this ponytail palm out of the pot and actually plant it in the ground.

At this time, we were living in a house.

We had, I think, about five acres of land, and we had a big pond on our property.

And she found the perfect spot for her prized ponytail palm right there by the pond.

And so we dug the hole, planted the palm in it, and let it take off.

Now, all its life, this ponytail palm has only known the limits of the pot it's been living in.

It's been wanting to grow bigger, grow bigger, grow stronger, yet it's been confined to the pot.

Well, now it was just given a new opportunity.

It was like a kid who'd been only ever swimming in a kiddie pool, and yet the ocean was just down the street.

The kid just needed somebody to show him that there's an ocean to swim in.

Well, this ponytail palm, it was just given the soil, the ground to grow as big as it wanted to grow.

And that it did.

It exploded.

It seemed like overnight this thing took off and started growing into the ponytail palm that it was always meant to be.

And of course, today it's not about the ponytail palm.

Today, of course, it's about you, about you making a decision to shift into the person, the version, the chapter of your story that you're meant to be living.

You have to stop and ask yourself how many of us are living lives that are confined, that are in a pot that we're not meant to be in?

We want more purpose, more peace.

We want a bigger life for ourselves, but we keep asking for those dreams to grow inside of the same environment we've been in for years.

And honestly, maybe that's why you feel restless.

Not that there's something wrong with you, but instead, it's just something inside of you has gotten too big for the place you're living, for the place you're working, for the place that you're doing life in.

When we're growing up as kids, we're always taught that we have to choose our friends wisely.

We have to be sure that the people that we hang out with are the people that we want to be like, because, well, they're going to be a reflection on us.

And somehow, though, as we go into adulthood, we seem to forget about this.

We just fall into the routines of life, forgetting that our environment does impact who we are, who we become.

And if we stay in the same environment, how do we ever expect to change?

We go to bed at night thinking how bad we want to make a change in our life, how bad we want something more for our life.

And yet, what are we doing during the day to get there?

We're still hanging out with the same people, we're still doing the same things.

We have to be willing to expand, to grow.

And here's the thing back to that ponytail palm.

Growth isn't easy.

No.

When that plant, when that ponytail palm was there in the pot, well, it was cared for.

When it got cold out, when it was about to freeze in the winter, we could bring it inside to keep it warm.

When it was planted in the ground, it had to face the weather.

It had to face the wind, the rain, the cold.

We couldn't bring it inside.

But you know what that did?

Was down underneath the ground, the roots got stronger.

The roots grew deeper.

That tree was growing into the version that it was always meant to be because it was being faced with the variables of life.

It was having to endure the wind, the rain, the cold.

And in doing so, it got to become the version of itself that God had intended it to be.

My friend, the same is true for you.

You have to be willing to make a shift to get out of what is comfortable and into spaces that challenge you, that test you, that make you think differently.

They always say that if you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

You want to be in a room with people who help you grow, not keep you stuck.

So here we are in the midst of the summer months, and we can either coast through life, we can keep doing things the easy way, and keep feeling unfulfilled, or we can make some simple shifts.

We can choose to do things differently.

We can choose to do the hard things.

My friend, that is where growth happens.

And that is where you can begin to grow into your fullest potential possible.

My friend, I could keep going.

I could give you more tips and tricks and explanations, but honestly, it's just this simple.

If you want to grow into your next best self, if you have bigger plans for your life, you have to be willing to get outside of what is comfortable.

Maybe that's as simple as picking up the phone and making the call.

It's sending the email.

It's getting out of the house and walking into a new space, introducing yourself to someone new, trying something new, doing something different.

Maybe, my friend, you just need a new pot.

You just need somewhere else to be able to grow that allows you to expand and to become the person you were meant to be.

My friend, hopefully, today was a quick hit, a quick win, a little boost for you to realize that you know what?

I'm not stuck.

I'm just in the wrong pot.

Until next time, I'm your host, Kevin Lowe.

My friend, get out there, enjoy this beautiful day, enjoy this beautiful time of year, and don't forget to show back up here each and every Tuesday morning for another episode of Grit Grace and Inspiration.