“Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” — Gail Sheehy, New York Times bestselling author

There have been so many times that I can admit to being afraid of growth. Fear of the unknown — yeah, that’s a real thing, and I suffer from it (who else is with me?). As a self-proclaimed introvert, growth has never been easy. There were many times where I, like many others, was faced with crippling self-doubt. I can’t even count the number of times I muttered “I can’t do this” to myself.

The Importance of Growth

But on the flip side of that, I also understand the importance and value of growth. If I’m not growing, what am I doing? With growth comes so much opportunity. So much inspiration. So much expanded knowledge. So much adventure. We should all strive to grow, learn, change, improve, and be curious. In a time when ignorance is NOT bliss, growth means making informed decisions, pushing boundaries, and exploring new things. And listen, it does get easier. The truth is, the more you confront fear, the more power you obtain.

What Growth Means at Weaving Influence

At Weaving Influence, one of our core values is growth. I’m thankful to work for a company that values and teaches growth, pushes me outside of my comfort zone, and challenges me in new and exciting ways, daily. How lucky am I that I get to learn from other people’s growth for a living?

So, because it is a core value, here are the ways I’ve grown in my short time at Weaving Influence:

Communication: Being able to communicate with others is key. I’ve had to learn to be more articulate, both with clients and with my team members. Because so many of my team members work remotely, it can be easy to misunderstand each other. I’ve grown to appreciate the ways in which we communicate and have learned to understand others’ ways of communication, which may be unlike my own.

Learning New Skills: I commend the team at Weaving Influence for always challenging us to expand our knowledge and skillsets. We are constantly learning from each other’s areas of expertise, and the company invests in us to promote learning new skills so that we are better able to serve clients. We write down goals and then take the steps necessary to achieve them. We also share our wins with the entire team. It’s inspiring to check in with my team members weekly and learn about what they’ve accomplished each week.

Personality: I mentioned before that I’m an introvert. This usually means being in the spotlight is a no-no. However, during my time at Weaving Influence, I’ve had to think on the fly, be on camera, even participate in webinars! I’ve had to quickly learn things I didn’t know how to do to and jump in and give it a go. And it turns out, the things I thought were scary aren’t so scary after all.

So, even though it’s uncomfortable, I choose growth over fear, always. The benefits outweigh the cons, bar none.

As the year is quickly winding down, I am always inspired to think of the ways in which I would like to grow for the year ahead. What’s on your list? Let me know in the comments!

Aubrey Pastorek

Aubrey Pastorek is the business development and marketing manager at Weaving Influence. She graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in Fine Art. She enjoys traveling, cooking, photography, being outdoors, and cuddling her adorable dog, Scout.