The Courage to Become

Learning to Stand in the Middle of Change

Becoming doesn’t require certainty. It requires honesty, patience, and the willingness to stay with yourself while everything is still unfolding.

Most of what breaks us doesn’t arrive loudly. It shows up as quiet pressure. Self-doubt that lingers. Conversations we replay. Relationships that shift. Moments where we wonder if we handled something wrong or if we are the problem.

The courage to become isn’t about forcing confidence or pretending things don’t hurt. It’s the decision to keep moving forward even when you feel tender, confused, or unfinished. It’s choosing not to collapse into shame when life asks more of you than you expected to give.

One day, you will look back on this version of yourself. Not with embarrassment, but with understanding. You’ll see how much strength it took just to stay open. To keep loving. To keep trying when certainty wasn’t available.

Becoming asks you to release the story that you are behind, broken, or late. Growth rarely looks clean while it’s happening. It feels messy because you are shedding layers that no longer fit. That discomfort isn’t failure. It’s evidence of movement.

Not everyone will walk with you through this phase. Some people disappear when you stop performing or shrinking. Let them go without turning it into a judgment of your worth. The relationships meant to last will meet you where you are, not where you used to be.

The courage to become also means taking up space before you feel ready. Speaking honestly. Asking for support. Letting yourself be seen without having everything figured out. You don’t need to earn rest, love, or belonging by proving how resilient you are.

Your mind will tell stories when you’re tired. It will replay old mistakes and exaggerate your flaws. Pause before believing them. Those narratives were often formed during moments of fear, not clarity.

What you can trust is this: you are allowed to grow without punishing yourself for who you used to be. You are allowed to want more and still appreciate what carried you here. These are not opposing truths.

Becoming isn’t about arriving at a perfect version of yourself. It’s about staying in relationship with who you are, even as you change. Choosing curiosity over self-attack. Choosing patience over urgency.

That is the courage to become.