Pressure of Becoming

Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender (the original series, not the movie or the Netflix adaptation. We are not friends if you liked any of those. Sorry, not sorry!) is my hero. His redemption arc hits close to home for many.

The confusion of understanding the right thing to do is human. Even when you have a guide as awesome as Uncle Iroh. It is hard to have the autonomy to make major decisions and to not mess them up sometimes. Having good mentors does not remove the burden of choosing.

But if you don't make those mistakes, would you learn anything at all?

Growth comes from doing difficult things. Like me trying to write this. I haven't written anything in over a decade, and it feels like trying to flex a muscle that has long been dormant.

If you're one of the people wondering how to improve, or how to be better than yesterday, maybe the answer is really simpler than we make it.

Do one difficult thing.

• Make that phone call.
• Send that email.
• Clean that apartment.
• Load the dishwasher.
• Go for that 5-minute walk.
• Feed yourself good food.
• Write that essay ...I told myself.

Maybe it is not about chasing some imaginary version of yourself.

Maybe it is about building enough evidence, through small choices each day, that you can trust yourself more and more.

And eventually, you become the person you wanted. Without the pressure of becoming.