#womencrushwednesday | “There’s More Growing To Be Done”

I finished Michelle Obama’s book three days ago and I absolutely loved it. Judging from the title I thought the book was going to be about how she got to where she is today and it turned out that was only a part it. She tells her life story leading up to today and says that she will always be working towards a better self. With a degree from Harvard Law School and a life seemingly planned out, she took unexpected turns and learned along the way that change is the only constant in life. I am in awe of her humility regarding her success; for our former First Lady to say “there is more growing to be done”, surely there is a lesson to be learned here? Throughout the book she sends encouraging messages to her readers to not be afraid of changes, and I couldn’t agree with her more when she said that this is “all a process, steps along a path”.

Her line “there is always growing to be done” makes me feel humbled and cautious at the same time. Humbled because no matter how successful someone is, there will always be new chapters and different experiences that follow. Cautious because no matter what the current circumstances are, the moments can always change — there is no permanence. It also makes me feel hopeful, because life doesn’t just plateau after significant achievements, in her case being the First Lady, it continues into new adventures and new learning curves. Lastly, when changes are called “growth” they take on a completely different meaning: one that’s all of a sudden expansive and enriching.

It makes me so happy to see such a positive and growth-mindset perspective being used to describe “change”. Last but not least, here is my favorite passage from the epilogue:

“I am now at a new beginning, at a new phase of life. For the first time in many years, I’m unhooked from any obligations as a political spouse, unencumbered by other people’s expectations…. At 54, I am sill in progress, and I hope that I always will be. For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere, or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end…. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done.”