When the Best Thing Changes You: Learning to Grow With It

There was an old airbag commercial where a car would crash into a wall, crumpling completely before the airbags deployed. The message was clear: the impact might be unavoidable, but what happens next determines survival.

It reminded me of a line from the horror movie 30 Days of Night. A vampire says, “When a man meets a force he can’t destroy, he destroys himself.” In other words, what we can’t change, changes us—either for the better or for the worse.

And isn’t that exactly what happens when something life-altering enters our world?

We think that getting what we’ve always wanted—love, success, healing, a breakthrough—will be easy. But in reality, receiving something life-changing is just as disruptive as losing something. The moment we encounter a force we can’t destroy—whether that’s an unexpected blessing or a hard truth—we either transform to meet it, or we crumble beneath it.

I’ve learned that one of the hardest things in life isn’t just enduring hardship—it’s recognizing and accepting a blessing when it arrives wrapped in struggle. But what’s even harder? Learning to grow with it.

Because here’s the truth—when something truly life-changing enters your world, it doesn’t just change your circumstances. It changes you.

And that can be just as uncomfortable as the struggle it took to accept it.

1. The Discomfort of Transformation

We love the idea of growth, but we don’t always love what it requires. Growth stretches us, shakes us, and sometimes even breaks us before it rebuilds us.

When something new and good enters our lives—a relationship, a dream job, a long-awaited breakthrough—it forces us to confront parts of ourselves we may not have been ready to face.

• Maybe we suddenly realize how much we’ve been living in fear.

• Maybe we struggle with feeling like an imposter in our own success.

• Maybe we have to unlearn habits of self-sabotage that we didn’t even know we had.

Whatever it is, growth is rarely comfortable, even when it’s exactly what we need.

2. Letting Go of the “Old You”

One of the hardest parts of receiving something life-changing is realizing you can’t go back to who you were before.

There’s a version of you that only knew struggle. A version of you that was used to waiting, fighting, hoping, but not necessarily receiving. And now that you’ve stepped into something new, that old version of you can’t lead the way anymore.

This is where a lot of people get stuck. They hold onto old mindsets, old fears, and old patterns because that’s what’s familiar. They cling to who they were, even though they’re being called to step into something greater.

But growth demands that we shed what no longer serves us. And sometimes, that means letting go of the person we used to be.

3. Learning to Receive Fully

It’s one thing to accept something good—it’s another thing to actually own it.

A lot of us struggle to fully embrace the good in our lives because deep down, we’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop. We hesitate to let ourselves feel joy because we’re afraid it won’t last.

But living like that doesn’t protect us—it only robs us of the fullness of the moment.

Here’s the truth: You are allowed to enjoy the good things that come into your life. You are allowed to feel joy, peace, love, success—without guilt, without fear, without apology.

Stop holding your breath, waiting for things to go wrong. Let yourself breathe. Let yourself enjoy.

4. Understanding That Growth is Ongoing

Receiving the best thing doesn’t mean you’ve “arrived.” It doesn’t mean the work is over. It just means you’ve stepped into a new level of growth.

Every new blessing comes with its own lessons. Every new opportunity comes with its own challenges. And every time we step into something greater, we have to continue evolving to sustain it.

• Relationships require emotional growth.

• Success requires mindset shifts.

• Healing requires ongoing self-work.

The best things in life aren’t just things we receive once—they are things we learn to grow into continuously.

5. Trusting That You Were Chosen for This

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we’re not ready. That we don’t deserve the good things that come into our lives.

But here’s the truth: If something has arrived in your life, it’s because you were meant for it.

You may not feel ready. You may still have doubts. You may still have days where you look at your blessings and think, Is this really for me?

But it is.

You wouldn’t have been given this opportunity, this love, this healing, this moment—if it wasn’t meant for you.

You were chosen for this. Now, your only job is to step fully into it.

Final Thoughts: Keep Walking Forward

Change is never easy. Even when it’s good, even when it’s everything you’ve ever wanted, it still comes with its own set of challenges.

But don’t let fear keep you from fully embracing what’s in front of you. Don’t let self-doubt make you question what is already yours.

The best thing that ever happened to you wasn’t a mistake. It didn’t come to tease you or trick you.

It came to transform you. To grow you. To take you to the next level.

So keep walking forward. Keep becoming. Keep growing into everything you were always meant to be.