The highest tree or the deepest root

Hi Everyone,

Last newsletter I shared my thinking on the relationship between ambition and responsibility and the response was great! Thank you for responding back and sharing your growth journey progression. As always, these interactions help me further clarify my thinking. So please know I read each email and respond to each one.

When growth feels complete

Thank you Stacey for asking me the question: How do you determine that you've completed growth?

I used to pursue growth hardcore. I was working towards reaching my potential and then this year, I looked back at my goals and realized that I have achieved most of them five years early. That shook me. I was happy at first, but then I realized that I didn't have anything else I really was striving for. For someone who is goals and results driven, it was hard to not know what was next.

After reflection, I realized that I am content and I have enough. Now, I'm not trying to grow into the highest tree, I am now trying to set the deepest roots. The shift from reaching higher to growing deeper comes when we recognize that true fulfillment stems not from constant expansion, but from strengthening the roots we've already established.

I want to go deeper where I am:

• Instead of increasing my network, what does it mean to deepen my relationships with the friends I have?
• Instead of trying to get a higher title in my career, what does it mean to deepen my impact in the communities I serve?
• Instead of trying to gain new skills, what does it mean to get stronger in the skills I have?
• Instead of pursue new opportunities, what does it mean in my current role to take each day as a new opportunity?

Finding my growth boundaries

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I know I'm in a growth stage now and I'm adapting and fixing my systems to reflect my new responsibilities. I also know when I'm full. Maybe my answer for Stacey is that I know when I have reached growth through intuition and planning. It's hard for me to pinpoint an exact destination because I lean on the idea of: align your intention with your direction.

The future is uncertain and there may be roles and opportunities awaiting me that haven't been invented or created yet. So I instead work on preparation and developing a strong system, which you can follow through the Intellectual Will practice. I do my best to identify my dream, my why, my legacy, and ensure that my values are strong. When I am in alignment, everything falls into place. Because I am steadfast on being in alignment with my values, morals, and vision, I am not worried. When I arrive at a destination that is a good fit, I can use my tools, skills, and values to settle in.

The season of deepening

I know I am in a moment of standing still: Taking in all that I've learned, listening, and deepening. Once a tree reaches its full height, it doesn't stop growing, its roots continue to expand, it interacts with the ecosystem around it, it flowers every year and maybe some years it doesn't. That's growth too.

So, I wish I had a good answer for Stacey on how I knew I was done growing. I think it's less about being done growing because I am always going to grow even if it's not apparent from the outside, but it's really about knowing when to be still which is a highly personal and individual moment.

For me, without an assistant to delegate certain tasks, I am unable to add more responsibility without compromising what's important for me. So, now is a natural place to be still and go deep:

• Reading Stacey Abrams' book "Lead from the Outside" made me think "this is the book I want to write." I appreciate how intentional she is with her thinking and the systems and frameworks she uses to guide her decision making.
• I shared last month that I am reading about the history of information. Building on thinking about information, I've been reflecting on what it means to build a writing practice as a Black writer.
• Not only am I continuing to improve my writing practice, I also am improving my ability to craft quality objectives and key results.
• In this time of stillness, I am experimenting with new ways of sharing my creations. Thank you Lisa for the suggestion that I put my art + music on YouTube as background study music. This direction feels natural as I have in the past paired writing + music together on Instagram. In addition, the Intellectual Will and Affirming Self journals both have accompanying Spotify playlists. I have spoken in the past about how sounds ground me. I am testing out this YouTube music idea. I have no idea if it will work, but please listen to the FLOW playlist I created, inspired by a collage I made. Bring something to work on and enjoy the music. Here's my new YouTube channel.

How are you approaching growth? Are you wanting to grow taller or set deeper roots?

*** Dr. Lisa-Marie