The Truth About Spiritual Growth: 5 Myths That Keep Us Stuck

Spiritual growth isn't always incense, full moons, and finding your higher self in the middle of a yoga pose. Sometimes it’s crying on your bathroom floor, realizing you've been repeating the same pattern for years. It’s facing your ego, owning your mistakes, and choosing better—even when it's hard.

It’s not always pretty. It’s rarely linear. But it is powerful.

Many of us fall into the trap of thinking spiritual growth is about becoming some perfectly calm, always enlightened version of ourselves. I remember being asked to go on a podcast to talk about my spirituality—and an hour before recording, I was literally googling what “spirituality” even meant. I doubted my own sense of self because I didn’t fit into a clear, polished definition. I told the host this, honestly and awkwardly—and that moment taught me something big.

Spirituality doesn’t need a label. It’s not about how it looks. It’s about how it feels—and how true it is to who you are.

In a world full of self-help content, manifestation hacks, and endless advice, it’s easy to get sidetracked. But real spiritual growth isn’t about adding more to become someone else. It’s about coming back to yourself—your real self.

Let’s bust some myths that keep us stuck, distracted, or discouraged on the journey.

Myth 1: “Spiritual growth means always being positive.”

Truth: If you’re trying to bypass your real feelings in the name of “good vibes only,” you’re not growing—you’re avoiding.

Spiritual maturity is the ability to sit with discomfort, not suppress it. It’s crying when you need to cry. Getting angry, feeling grief, admitting fear. You’re allowed to be human. In fact, that's the whole point. Real growth happens when we stop shaming our emotions and start learning from them.

You don't need to be "high vibe" all the time—you just need to be honest.

📝 Journal Prompt:
What emotion have I been avoiding lately? What might it be trying to teach me if I listened instead of resisting?

Myth 2: “Once you’re awakened, you’ll have it all figured out.”

Truth: Growth is not a destination. It’s a continuous unfolding.

There’s no finish line. You don’t suddenly reach enlightenment and stop having bad days. In fact, the more self-aware you become, the more layers you uncover. Old patterns show up in new ways. Triggers you thought were gone reappear. This isn’t failure—it’s feedback. You’re evolving, and that’s a lifelong process.

The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress with compassion.

📝 Journal Prompt:
Where in my life do I feel like I “should be further along”? How can I meet myself with more grace in that area?

Myth 3: “You just need this thing to finally transform.”

Truth: No course, crystal, book, or guru can do the work for you.

It’s tempting to believe that the next retreat or spiritual tool will be the key. And while those things can support your journey, they can’t substitute for your own inner work. Growth is internal. It’s deeply personal. And it happens in small, consistent choices—not in quick fixes or curated aesthetics.

Your healing won’t come from something you buy. It comes from what you practice.

📝 Journal Prompt:
What have I been waiting to “fix” me? What small step can I take today to support my growth from within, without relying on something external?

Myth 4: “You have to leave your old life behind to be spiritual.”

Truth: You don’t have to abandon your relationships, job, or personality to grow spiritually.

There’s a belief that to be “truly awakened,” you need to detach from the material world and become some minimalist monk-like version of yourself. But spirituality isn’t about erasing your identity. It’s about aligning with your authentic one.

You can have a 9–5, enjoy brunch, listen to rap music, binge Netflix—and still be deeply spiritual. It's not either/or.

Spirituality is not about becoming someone else. It’s about being fully yourself.

📝 Journal Prompt:
What parts of my everyday life already reflect who I truly am? Where can I bring more authenticity without abandoning what I love?

Myth 5: “Following your intuition means it will always feel good.”

Truth: Your intuition might lead you into discomfort—and that’s okay.

People often assume that if something is “meant to be,” it’ll feel easy and natural. But sometimes your inner guidance points you toward uncomfortable truths, necessary endings, or big risks. That doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path. It means you’re being asked to grow.

Your intuition isn’t here to coddle you—it’s here to evolve you.

📝 Journal Prompt:
What is my intuition quietly nudging me toward right now—even if it feels scary or uncertain?

So, What Is Spiritual Growth, Really?

It’s learning how to trust yourself.
It’s recognizing the difference between your trauma responses and your truth.
It’s making decisions with your long-term well-being in mind—even when your short-term ego wants to run.

And yes, it’s messy. It’s full of contradictions. You’ll outgrow beliefs, friendships, identities. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll have to start over—maybe more than once.

But in the end, spiritual growth is an undoing and rebuilding. A deconstruction of the false self, and a reconstruction of your authentic one.

And the most important part?

The only person who gets to lead that journey is you.

Not a teacher, not a trend, not a spiritual “influencer.” You.

You’re not here to be perfect. You’re here to be real. That’s where the magic happens.