The Leading Edge: Letting Go to Grow

By: Amy Malay

Have you ever picked a “word of the year” for your life? Along with many friends and colleagues, I have been doing this for the last several years. In fact, we usually share with each other what word we have chosen and why. It’s a powerful way to bring focus and intention to our lives for a specific period of time.

The word chosen for each year becomes a regular part of our daily thoughts and actions. This past December, it was time to choose a new word. It seemed difficult to let go of my 2017 word of the year. That word was transformation. My life had transformed greatly over the course of the year, and continued transformation was still valuable to me.

During a reflection and prayer time, an experience from the previous summer on a high ropes course came to mind. One of the obstacles on the course was an X-shaped rope bridge. There was one rope that at the bottom, and two diagonal ropes above. The diagonal ropes were in the shape of an X. One started at the top of the near side of the bridge and crossed over to the bottom of the far side of the bridge. The other rope began at the bottom of the near side and ended at the top of the far side.

Stepping onto the bottom rope, my crossing began. My hands were holding tightly onto the top diagonal rope. The diagonal rope became more and more difficult to hold onto the further I moved toward the center of the crossing. I would not be able to move any further along until letting go of the first diagonal rope, and grabbed onto the second diagonal rope! It felt unfamiliar and awkward and unbalanced to do that. But letting go of the first rope was the only way to move forward. After a few tries at positioning my hands and feet differently, I was able to do just that, and began the second half of the journey to the other side of the bridge.

The Law of Trade-Offs from John C. Maxwell’s book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth states that, “You have to give up to grow up.” To strive toward our potential, we have to be willing to give up some things we value. On the high ropes course, giving up my valued secure hold on the first rope in order to grab the second rope was a required “sacrifice” to complete the obstacle.

And in my search for a new word of the year, a lesson in the Law of Trade-Offs became apparent. I had to “give up” my valued word of the year for 2017 in order to transform even more in 2018. To keep growing – to keep transforming – we have to let go. Let go of things past. Let go of what was currently valued. Only by letting go can we grow. Only then can we go places we haven’t yet been. Only then can new valued ideas and opportunities be found. And THAT is what growth is all about.

You might be wondering, what word did I finally choose for 2018? It’s expansion. My focus will be to expand the transformational growth in my life. And, by the way, The Law of Expansion is another of The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. 2018 will be a year of expansion!

 

Amy J. Malay is the Chief Change Leader at Join Me on the Journey, is a certified Coach, Trainer, and Speaker with The John Maxwell Team, serves on the Culture Committee of The John Maxwell Team’s President’s Advisory Council, and is the Director of Team Development at a financial planning firm. Amy desires to be an agent of change in others’ lives and businesses. She helps individuals and teams to get “unstuck” in areas where they feel growth is needed. Amy has accumulated over 30 years of business experience in a variety of industries, and is well-equipped to serve in areas such as leadership, communication, team building, and personal growth. Change leadership is her passion… Transformation is the goal!  Learn more about Amy at www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/amyjmalay.