And what to do instead
Spiritual growth isn’t linear, clean, or customizable like a streaming service.
But when we want change—now—we often mistake urgency for alignment.
Here are signs you might be trying to fast-forward your way through the inner work:
1. You Want to “Arrive” Somewhere Soon
You keep thinking: “Once I understand this, I’ll be there.”
But the path has no arrival gate.
If you’re obsessed with “getting it over with,” you’re missing the point.
✳️ Shift: Think less about arrival. More about becoming.
2. You’re Frustrated When Peace Doesn’t Show Up Immediately
You meditate once.
Journal twice.
Still feel foggy. So you say, “This isn’t working.”
But transformation is like a slow boil—it happens beneath the surface first.
✳️ Shift: Trust the unseen work. Let the process steep.
3. You’re Collecting Tools Instead of Using Them
You’ve read every book.
Downloaded every app.
Listened to every mystic.
But none of it’s being integrated—because the search itself has become a distraction.
✳️ Shift: Use fewer tools. Use them deeper.
4. You’re Comparing Your Path to Others’ Highlight Reels
You think you’re behind.
Someone else seems enlightened. Or calmer. Or more “aligned.”
Now you’re in a race nobody else agreed to run.
✳️ Shift: Turn comparison into inspiration, not judgment.
5. You Can’t Sit With Discomfort—You Must Fix It Now
Spiritual urgency often masks emotional avoidance.
If your growth is just a way to escape feeling something—you’re not healing. You’re bypassing.
✳️ Shift: Let discomfort be a doorway, not a deadline.
6. You Treat “Insights” Like Endpoints
You had an epiphany. Great.
Now you’re acting like the work is done.
But insight without integration is just a dopamine hit in spiritual clothing.
✳️ Shift: Let insight lead to action, not conclusion.
7. You’re Impatient With Setbacks
You were doing great.
Then an old pattern came back.
Now you’re angry at yourself for not “staying healed.”
But growth isn’t a ladder—it’s a spiral.
✳️ Shift: Expect returns. Welcome them with curiosity, not shame.
The Real Path Moves at the Speed of Sincerity
Not speed. Not intensity.
But sincerity.
That means honesty.
Presence.
Slowness.
And an openness to being shaped by something deeper than your ego’s calendar.
So breathe.
You’re not behind.
You’re just being asked to go deeper.