Slingshot Weekly (11/12/25) | Proof That You Are Becoming

You are not who you were last year. Or six months ago. Or even last week.

That’s not something to fix, it’s something to honor. Growth isn’t loud or dramatic most of the time. It happens in quiet ways - in your thoughts, in your choices, in the way you respond to things that once used to shake you. You’ve grown. You’ve learned. You’ve stretched. Now, you get to decide what still fits and what doesn’t.

We’re taught to believe that once we pick a path, we’re supposed to stay on it forever. Choose a major, stick with it. Choose a job, stay loyal. Choose a dream, chase it relentlessly even when it starts to feel heavy. Somewhere along the line, we confused commitment with permanence and forgot that growth changes us.

Changing your mind doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’ve evolved. It means that you are staying adaptable to the process, and that is one of the most difficult feats to uncover. Evolution isn’t confusion, it’s clarity. It’s what happens when you start paying attention to what actually matters to you instead of what once did. It means you’re asking better questions. It means you’re brave enough to admit that the things that used to feel right don’t anymore.

That’s not weakness. That’s wisdom.

When you think about it, every version of yourself has been preparing you for the next. The person you were last year made choices based on what they knew then. The person you are now knows more, sees more, feels more and the person you’re becoming will build on both.

Think about some of the most inspiring people we know. Brené Brown built her career around studying shame but her work evolved into vulnerability and courage because her research, and her life, called her there. Oprah Winfrey’s path has shifted countless times - from talk show host to business leader to global humanitarian. Each stage of her journey wasn’t a detour; it was a deepening.

Even nature shows us this pattern. Trees shed their leaves not because something’s wrong, but because the next season demands something different. They let go to conserve strength for new growth. We’re no different. Yet we resist change because it feels like loss. We fear disappointing others, breaking plans, or “starting over.” Starting over isn’t the same as going backward. It’s starting from experience with more clarity and more self-awareness than before.

Real alignment requires regular reflection. Not once a year, but often. It’s asking, Is this still right for me? Does this still fit? Does this still light me up? Sometimes the answer will be yes. Sometimes it will be no. But asking the question is how you stay connected to your becoming.

You don’t have to carry old decisions into your next chapter just because they once made sense. You are allowed to change your mind. You are allowed to realign. You are allowed to grow beyond what once fit you.

Letting go doesn’t mean the past was a mistake. It means the present is speaking, and you’re finally listening.

Reflection Questions of the Week:

• When was the last time you allowed yourself to change your mind without guilt?

• How has your growth over the past year changed what you want for your future?

• What would it look like to embrace evolution as a sign of clarity instead of confusion?