How I Stopped Sprouting and Started Growing: Real Talk on Personal Growth After 50

Have you ever read something and instantly thought, “That’s me”? It happened to me last week and it turned into one of the most powerful reflections on my journey of personal growth after 50.

I belong to a book club (which I love), and we were reading The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest. The book introduced the concept of “sprouting” - when you start something new without pulling up the old behaviors or limiting beliefs holding you back. That hit home for me. It was like a mirror showing a pattern I hadn’t fully seen.

I realized that I tend to enjoy “sprouting” with programs or projects. When these programs or projects begin, I am all in. However, if they become hard or boring, I drop them or pass them off to someone else. I read the few paragraphs over and over and thought “wow, she has me pegged”. I sat there and wrote out at least 6 things I had purchased, joined, or started that I didn’t complete in the last couple of years. To give myself some credit, I do enjoy learning and expanding but when the going gets tough, I tend to become disinterested.

That pattern, repeated over time, doesn’t support the deep personal growth after 50 I truly want. 

I’m committed to shifting this because true personal growth after 50 isn’t about collecting new starts. It’s about doing the hard, messy work of change. Digging up the roots. Staying with discomfort long enough to grow something real.

One of the points that I enjoyed about the book is that when she explained an issue or problem, she had a section “how to resolve this”.

I am stopping my "sprouting" habit!

Here is how to resolve my enjoyment of “sprouting” but then losing interest and not completing.

1. Recognize the pattern.  

I have a pattern of starting a project and not completing it. I realize that some I didn’t think it was what I thought and that is okay but what about the other 5-6 projects in the last couple years? It was simply my loss of interest or it made me think too hard. LOL.

2. Get clear on what you really want.  

In other words, I tend to jump at something and volunteer or join or buy before I investigate. I admit that this has worked out most of the time but if I would take more time to evaluate and investigate before the commitment, I would save myself time and money.

Wiest writes that clarity is key. And I couldn’t agree more.

3. Identify the moment you usually flee. Then stay.

This is where the real work happens. When things get uncomfortable, confusing, or hard. Pause. Ask yourself: “Why do I want to run?” and “What would it look like to stay?” This practice has been transformative in my own midlife growth journey. It’s not about pushing through blindly. It's about gently staying with the discomfort long enough to create real change.

Final Thought

The book gave me more than insight. It gave me tools to actually shift. That’s what personal growth after 50 is about. Moving from awareness to action. And I’m ready to show up differently.