Don't GO through it, GROW through it!
Learn to grow through things, take them as opportunities to reflect and develop as an individual.
Tito Guerrero
9/3/20262 min read
Stop Going Through It. Start Growing Through It.
There’s a phrase we use all the time when life gets hard: “I’m going through something.”
I’ve said it myself.
But the older I get, the less I like that phrase.
Because “going through” makes it sound like life is something happening to you. Like you’re just trying to survive the storm until it passes.
I’d rather say, “I’m growing through something.”
That one word changes everything.
I know what it feels like to have your life completely disrupted. I went through prison. There were plenty of reasons to be angry, bitter, or consumed by what happened. But eventually, I realized I had a choice: I could spend my time counting the days, or I could make the days count.
So I leaned into the experience.
I learned about myself. I confronted things I needed to change. I read. I listened. I reflected. I started thinking seriously about the person I wanted to become when I walked out those doors.
Prison became part of my story—not the end of it.
Then I got out and discovered that freedom doesn’t necessarily mean life gets easier.
Now I was a convicted felon trying to rebuild a life while carrying a label that can make people question your worth before they ever learn your story. Rejection became part of the journey.
Jobs. Opportunities. People.
No after-work happy hour required to realize rejection sucks.
But again, I had a choice.
I could let rejection convince me that I wasn't capable, or I could use it as fuel to keep getting better and keep moving toward my goals.
And when I was eventually let go from a job, I could have carried resentment around like a second paycheck.
Instead, I chose reflection.
What could I learn? What could I do better? What did this make possible that I couldn't see yet?
That’s the difference between going through something and growing through something.
The circumstance may be the same.
The pain may be real.
The setback may suck.
But growth asks a different question:
“What is this here to teach me?”
I don't want to simply go through life.
I want to grow through it.
Because the goal isn't to come out of every difficult season unchanged.
The goal is to come out better.