You're on Growth's Edge

Recently, I learned there’s a name for a feeling I've had as recently as last week, and one I realise many leaders experience at one time or another... it’s called a growth edge.

It’s that quiet, uncomfortable place where you realise you can’t quite keep doing things the way you used to, but you don’t yet know what the new way looks like.

It’s where you’ve outgrown an old version of yourself, or an old story about who you should be, but you're in the limbo of the next version of yourself.

Sound familiar?

Maybe you’ve been in a season where things that once energised you feel heavy.
Where you’re questioning what still fits: the way you lead, the work you do, the boundaries you keep. Maybe part of you is ready to stretch, but another part just wants to rest.

That’s the edge.
Messy, disorienting, and deeply human.

Why This Matters

Here’s the thing about growth edges: they often show up right before something shifts.
They’re not proof that you’re lost or behind.
They’re a sign that something in you is evolving, asking for more space, more honesty, more alignment.

Most of us try to rush through that discomfort.
We distract ourselves with busyness or pressure ourselves to have a plan.
But the truth is, edges don’t respond to speed.
They respond to awareness.

Your growth edge is where your old patterns meet your new possibilities.
It’s the moment where your head says, “Just push through,” but in your heart, you're asking if there's another way?

And for leaders, especially those who care deeply, who hold space for others, who want their work to mean something, this edge is sacred ground.
It’s where presence becomes more powerful than performance.
It’s where you start leading from a truer place, not just what is expected of you.

A Reflection for You

If you sense you’re standing at your own edge right now, try this:

Pause.
Notice what’s stretching in you.
Ask yourself:

• What’s no longer working, even if it used to?

• What truth am I avoiding because it might change things?

• What could grow if I allowed this tension to be a teacher rather than a threat?

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If this reflection resonates, take it as an invitation; not to do more, but to notice more.

Growth doesn't always announce itself with big changes.
Sometimes it begins quietly, with the decision to stay curious a little longer, to listen a little deeper, to trust the pause before the next step.

You don’t need to cross your growth’s edge today.

Just keep showing up to it, gently, bravely, and with compassion for the parts of you still learning the way.

With you,
Linda

Founder of Touching Distance