The Growth Digest
Taking your personal growth journey to the next level with the best stories from E.B. Johnson and LV Development.
The Best Stories This Week
These are the best and most popular stories from E.B. Johnson on LV Development (and beyond) this week. Discover how you can safeguard your wellbeing and build better relationships. All while manifesting a life that is authentically your own.
Signs of an Emotionally Unavailable Person
It isn’t easy when we fall for an emotionally distant or unavailable person. Loving someone, we want them to return that love in-kind. That’s not always possible, though, when our partners are damaged by the past or scared of being vulnerable with us. Does your partner avoid real intimacy? Do they hide their former lives with you? Or avoid deeper connection by keeping things surface deep? The time may have come to admit that when it comes to emotions, your partner is totally unavailable…
What You Realize When You Heal From Childhood Trauma
More and more of us are realizing that we were the victims of childhood trauma. An emotionally scarring experience, victims of this type of deep-rooted trauma can find that they struggle in everything from self-image to their intimate relationships. Improving our lives requires that we move from our victimhood and empower ourselves to heal. When we do that, we realize new powerful truths which helps to increase our emotional awareness and our understanding (and love for) self…
Stop Trying to Change Your Partner
Relationships go through a lot of difficulties. In the beginning, things are exciting and new. But it’s not long until the flaws begin to show. Our partners reveal more of themselves and we are left to reckon with it. Sometimes these realizations drive us closer together, and sometimes they bring out an unhealthy desire to “fix” or change our partners in a number of ways. That’s not how good partnerships are built, however. We can’t change our partners and we shouldn’t even try…
A few more of your favorites…
- Last week, Prince Harry was in the news again as he gave even more detail behind his split with the royal family. Claiming a desire to “reparent” himself, Harry described a childhood that was filled with pain, as well as caretakers that carried heavy burdens of their own. Acknowledging this pain, the prince even went so far as to share some of the revelations that came along with his time in therapy — including a renewed need to become the cycle breaker of his generation.
- Are you still hung up on your ex? Can’t stop thinking about them? There are some partners that we never forget. From first loves to first heartbreaks (and everything in-between) — in order to find the love we were meant to find, we first have to find a way to move beyond the pain of our past relationships.
- Do you know what your purpose is in this life? We all need to have something that gives us meaning in this life. Last week, I helped readers get a closer look at what mattered most to them in their lives. Once you know what matters, you can start prioritizing your needs and figure out what you want to do with your life and your future.
The Best Books for Transformation
Want to really get the most out of the personal growth journey that you’re on? These are my top picks for the best books in growth and transformation this week. Grab yourselves a copy to unlock a new level of understanding, and use them to empower yourself on the path to self-actualization that you’re on.
The Little Book of Big Lies ($23.99)
A story-focused tome, this book will entirely shift your perspective if you’re on a journey to healing. By centering on the lives and narratives of real people, you’ll be able to shift the way you see yourself and your journey. This book is a powerful first step in manifesting the life you want to lead.
No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline ($16.99)
An inspiring bit of tough love from Brian Tracy, this is the book you need if you’re the one getting in the way of your healing. Sometimes, we know exactly where we need to go. But we get stuck in a rut and comfortable in our toxic habits and patterns of disappointment. This book helps you get out of your own way and onto the path that brings you joy.
Radically Happy: A User’s Guide to the Mind ($19.95)
If meditation is tool that’s proved helpful on your journey, then this book can help you focus your passion and create real transformation. Using both new techniques and scientific studies, Radically Happy helps you to shift your perspective so. that you can create a more radically happy life.
A Word of Advice
Each week, I get hundreds of questions covering a lot of different topics. A lot of the questions focus on family. How do you build a better relationship with your family? How do you separate from a toxic family? We all have different relationships with our families, and we all need different things. Have a question you want to ask? Ask me anonymously here.
Q. What is the most effective coping mechanism to deal with verbal and emotional abuse? (via Quora)
A. Verbal and emotional abuse is a difficult experience to navigate. It can destroy our self-esteem and even our sense of self and reality. We all deal with this kind of negativity at some point in our lives, but what’s the most effective way to do so? While we may be tempted to “fight back” or change the person who approaches us with this abuse — that won’t get us anywhere. The only way to effectively cope this situation is to remove yourself from it.
When someone attacks you verbally or emotionally, tensions are already running high. If you engage with the attack by fighting back, you’re only going to increase those emotions and muddy the waters. You need to remove yourself from the situation — both emotionally and physically. When you feel the attacks running high, take a step back and look at the behavior of the other person. Then, remove yourself to a separate place so that you can process your own emotions and protect yourself from the barrage you can’t control.
Get more great advice like this in my new book — Relationship Renovator— available now. Want to win a free copy? Join my mailing list.
