The Invisible Part of Growth

In which direction do we want a tree to grow?

Up. Right?

Now a more fundamental question: can a tree grow only up?

Of course not.

Before a tree becomes visible above the ground, it has to grow below it. Its roots spread quietly into the darkness, where nobody can see them.

The roots grow first. The tree comes later.

And if you take a big plant and put it into a tiny pot, what happens?

Its growth gets limited. There simply isn't enough room for the roots.

So why do we expect our own growth to happen in only one direction? We want more money. More success. More responsibility. More influence. More fruits. But what are we doing about our roots?

The problem is that roots are invisible

Nobody applauds you for reading a book. Nobody gives you a promotion for spending an hour reflecting on your mistakes. Nobody sees the conversations you have with yourself, the skills you quietly develop, or the knowledge you accumulate.

But that invisible work eventually becomes visible.

Many people's education effectively stops after their college degree. The tree gets put into a fixed-size pot. They stop learning, stop experimenting, stop developing new skills—and then wonder why their growth has plateaued.

How much are your roots growing?

If you are serious about growth, perhaps the better question isn't “How much am I achieving?”

It is “How much are my roots growing?”

Ask yourself:

1. In the last 30 days, what have I done to develop my roots? How much time did I spend? What did I learn?
2. What will I do in the next 30 days to develop my roots?

Because the part of the tree nobody sees determines how much of the tree everybody sees.