CAREER ADVICE
A Tree Grows in Two Directions at the Same Time
Job seekers: Seek the light but don’t fear what the dark does for you.
If you’ve been tirelessly sending out resumes and networking like it’s your full-time job, and still hitting wall after wall, I hope this can help. I know looking for a job or getting a promotion is a rough, gritty, experience. I know this feeling and I don’t want to sugarcoat the challenge. I’ve spoken with many of you recently and faced this hurdle multiple times in my career. I want to share a helpful metaphor for what many are going through.
Trees do a fascinating thing where they grow upwards and downwards simultaneously. They grow in two directions at the same time. It’s something we instinctively know about trees, but we don’t stop to recognize the powerful metaphor for life.
For starters, there’s some cool science behind it — both a gravitropic and a phototropic process are necessary for a tree’s growth. Don’t worry, I won’t geek out too much on these principles, but it’s neat to understand how a tree grows.
The roots, driven by gravity, push down to anchor and nourish the tree, called the gravitropic process. While the branches, seeking light, stretch upwards — called the phototropic process. This dual growth is…
