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[Personal Growth] The Law of Reflection: When Growth Needs a Pause

 There’s a quiet truth I’ve come to embrace - not just as a coach, but as a human navigating the complexities of life and work: We don’t grow just by doing. We grow by pausing, noticing, and integrating.

John Maxwell calls this The Law of Reflection: “Learning to pause allows growth to catch up with you.”

It’s the fourth law in his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, and it’s one I return to often - especially when life feels fast, full, and strangely empty.

Why Pausing Feels So Hard (and So Necessary)

We live in a culture that celebrates motion. Productivity. Hustle. The next goal, the next meeting, the next milestone. And actually not only one goal, but multiple goals. All in the same time. All equally urgent. But what happens when we’re moving so fast that we lose sight of where we’re going - or why?

I’ve worked with professionals who’ve climbed the ladder only to feel disconnected from their own values. I’ve mastered execution but struggled with meaning. And I've been caught in the rhythm of doing, forgetting to ask what it’s all for.

That’s where reflection comes in. Not as a luxury, but as a lifeline.

What Reflection Really Offers

Reflection isn’t just about looking back. It’s about looking inward. It’s the moment we ask:

  • What am I learning from this season?

  • What patterns keep repeating?

  • What am I avoiding?

  • What do I truly want?

These questions don’t always have immediate answers. But they open doors - to clarity, to healing, to growth that feels aligned rather than forced.

Maxwell reminds us: “Experience isn’t the best teacher. Evaluated experience is.”


And he’s right. Without reflection, even the richest experiences can pass us by without transformation.

This wisdom isn’t new. It’s echoed across time and disciplines:

  • Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

  • Carl Jung: “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.”

  • Stephen Covey: “Sharpen the saw” - renew yourself regularly to stay effective.

  • Brené Brown: Encourages us to “rumble with vulnerability” to build resilience and authenticity.

Each of these voices points to the same truth: growth begins in stillness.

Do you feel stuck?

If you’re in a season of transition, uncertainty, or quiet frustration… pause. Not forever. Just long enough to hear yourself again.

Create space to reflect. Journal. Walk (or weed the garden). Sit in silence. Ask the hard questions. Let the answers come slowly.

And if you’d like a companion on that journey - someone to listen, to guide, to help you turn pause into progress - I’m here.

I coach professionals who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or simply ready for something deeper. Together, we transform reflection into strategy, and strategy into meaningful change.

📩 You’re welcome to reach out anytime. Let’s explore what growth might look like for you.

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