When I make a point of learning something new about myself each day, no matter how small, it reassures me. I know I’m evolving, both personally and spiritually. The strongest aspects of my character thrive, while weaknesses gradually fade away.

Yet, like housework, inner work never truly ends. As I grow stronger, areas that were once stable can become my new weaknesses, demanding attention. This realisation that personal development is an ongoing process explains why there always seems to be more inner work to do. When one limitation is overcome, another emerges.

Avoiding this work for too long leads to stagnation. The rut becomes a comfort zone, one that is increasingly difficult to escape. The longer I remain stuck, the harder it is to adapt when inevitable change arrives. Even when old patterns no longer serve me, their familiarity can make them hard to leave behind.

Change is necessary, but fear of change is real. At best, it feels disruptive. At worst, it can create chaos. Chaos cannot always be controlled.

But.

It can be managed.

Change involves loss, and loss requires grieving. But the rewards of transformation far outweigh the discomfort. Frustration and even anger often signal that I am ready to move forward, that energy is building within me, preparing for momentum. Instead of resisting it, I channel it constructively.

Here’s how I do it:

• I redirect frustration into action, using it as fuel to break out of stagnation.
• I embrace learning as a daily ritual, understanding that evolution is constant—even after major shifts.

One of my favorite tools for personal growth is self-inquiry. Over the years, I have encouraged countless students and clients to ask themselves these powerful questions:

• Why do I do what I do?
• What motivates me?
• Is a positive or negative force fueling my intentions and behavior?

By questioning myself and observing my reactions, I gain clarity. My response to others’ complaints or excuses, as well as their compassion and kindness, offers insight into my own patterns. Often, the behaviors I criticise in others are ones I unknowingly exhibit, just in a different context.

This kind of self-admission is humbling, but essential. The external world reflects internal truths that I may not yet have acknowledged. When an external situation triggers me, I examine what it is mirroring.

Turn your challenges into strengths

To further deepen my self-awareness, I ask myself:

• What did I learn to think, be, or do today?
• What did I learn not to think, be, or do?

We cannot avoid negativity, but we also cannot escape positivity. Life constantly presents both.

Schools of thought often suggest finding the blessing within difficulties—because every hardship carries potential wisdom. Likewise, we need to remain open to the idea that every positive contains an eventual challenge. Light and shadow exist in balance; nothing remains permanently one-sided.

Shame, humiliation, and guilt erode our ability to see opportunities. But identifying the strengths developed through these experiences restores dignity and honor.

Some questions that help me reclaim my power include:

• How did I benefit from the experience?
• How did others benefit?

Dig deep enough, and the hidden gift always reveals itself. This process restores energy. It’s an be as revitalising as stumbling headfirst into the Fountain of Youth.

There are four bodies. Each one has a potential for growth beyond age. Let me explain:

Life shifts out of balance but naturally realigns itself when we recognise that we contain both positive and negative possibilities. Human nature follows the rhythm of life-death-life, a cycle embedded in everything.

While physical growth halts between ages 18 to 21, emotional, mental, and spiritual growth never stop. Just as I care for my physical health through diet, exercise, and rest, I must also nurture my emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies through learning and self-reflection.

Each body contains seven limbs, corresponding to the chakras of the human energy system:

Emotional Body

1. Emotional survival
2. Emotional satisfaction
3. Emotional independence
4. Emotional healing
5. Emotional expression
6. Emotional intelligence
7. Emotional interdependence

Mental Body

1. Mental survival
2. Mental satisfaction
3. Mental independence
4. Mental healing
5. Mental expression
6. Mental intelligence
7. Mental interdependence

Spiritual Body

1. Spiritual survival
2. Spiritual satisfaction
3. Spiritual independence
4. Spiritual healing
5. Spiritual expression
6. Spiritual intelligence
7. Spiritual interdependence

Sometimes I wonder, could growth in these non-physical bodies slow the aging process?Personal and spiritual development has existed for centuries, but could one of its side effects be an elixir of youth?

Archetypes are my area of expertise. The desire to reverse or slow aging is associated with the Fountain of Youth archetype. It’s an ancient impulse deeply embedded in society. Our collective fixation with maintaining youthfulness at any cost reveals the powerful spell this archetype has cast over our modern culture. Yet I do not pursue spiritual growth to escape aging. Instead, I engage in personal and spiritual development to ensure a high-quality emotional, mental, and spiritual life.

While reversing aging is not the goal, I remain curious. What if focusing on the bodies unseen by the naked eye holds untapped potential? Perhaps, in time, we will discover that tending to these bodies contributes to longevity.

For now, I use my own life as an experiment. This is the experiment: Strengthening the weakest links. The process is simple:

• Focus on the weakest body: emotional, mental, or spiritual.
• Identify the weakest limb within that body.
• Direct time, energy, and attention toward strengthening it.

Strengthening one limb naturally fortifies others, sometimes even across different bodies.

I invite you to join me in this experiment. If you do, send me your reflections—I would love to hear your progress.

As we deepen self-awareness, we also sharpen our ability to discern truth from illusion. Superficiality, pretentiousness, deception, and hidden agendas become easier to spot.

Personal growth contributes to the larger evolution of humanity. We grow not only as individuals but as a collective.

Life is a constant juggling act. Yet, when I have one ball in each hand, I know there are still two more in the air. And I’ve learnt to trust that I am ready to catch them.