Sometimes, people around you resist your growth because your behavior throws theirs into contrast. This is the lonely chapter—moving away from old friendships and familiar habits. Like Neo in The Matrix, you know where that old road leads.
"If you want to go from where you are to where you want to be, it's going to cause you to leave friends behind."
"You're not going to get the new group immediately. This bit in the middle—this lonely chapter—will cause you to be riddled with self-doubt."
"You won't even know that there's going to be glory on the other side of it."
To be exceptional, you must be different. You can't fit in and be exceptional at the same time. Fitting in brings internal conflict; being exceptional brings external conflict. Pick one.
When your friends say "you've changed," what they often mean is "you've grown."
It's easy to doubt yourself. You assume others are more balanced or know better. You think: "Maybe it's silly to quit drinking… maybe meditation is pointless." These doubts creep in.
"Discomfort is a signal that growth is happening—that's something you should lean into."
"The strengths we admire in ourselves are often the light side of something dark."
"My ability to work in solitude is the flip side of being a lonely kid."
"If the price I had to pay for my current strengths was past pain, I'd happily pay that price again."
"People who have longevity pivot—they start with pain, then transcend it and move forward with something more positive."