We were all some degree of terrified the first time we stood up in front of the class to teach.
It was nearly a decade ago, in yoga teacher training, and our instructors gave us the gift of real-life practice right away—starting that first weekend and continuing throughout the program.
At the end of each teaching opportunity, the one who had just taught would stand wobbly-legged before our peers.
We were still figuring out how to speak while demonstrating and remembering to breathe ourselves. And after we taught, we received feedback.
But not on what we “did wrong.”
Instead, we got praise for what was already working… and insight into our growth edges—those places where, with attention and support, we were ripe for transformation.
The idea stuck with me.
And over time, I started using the term far beyond the yoga mat.
I used the phrase the other day in a networking conversation, and the person I was talking to paused. “Huh. I’ve never heard that term before.”
I realized: this is just how I think now.
Whenever I’m struggling—fumbling through something awkward, uncertain, or hard—I don’t usually think of it as a “problem.”
I think of it as a growth edge.
And that reframe changes everything.
Because challenges aren’t signs that something is broken.
At a growth edge, nothing is failure.
It’s all becoming.
Just a tender, active site of evolution.
Like the place on a plant where the new green shoot emerges.
The tip of the leaf that’s still unfurling.
These edges are where who we’re becoming meets the world, fresh and new—like raw skin.
They’re the places we’re still stretching into.
Where we haven’t yet found mastery.
Where we’re surrounded by FFTs (hat tip to Brené Brown: F***ing First Times).
Of course, it’s important to measure backwards, too—to pause and look at how far we’ve come. That way we don’t get bogged down or discouraged.
But I’m not trying to become someone who has no more challenges. (I’d fail.)
Even the future version of me—the more healed, more expressed, more masterful me—will have new ones.
New level, new devil, they say.
So I might as well get friendly with the discomfort.
Stay curious in the stretch.
And meet myself there with some reverence.
Your turn: What’s feeling clumsy, tender, awkward, or out of your depth right now?
What if it’s not a flaw to fix, but a growth edge—a sacred invitation to become?
Becomingly yours,
Rachel
PS – You don’t have to face your growth edges alone. Going for the life you most want? It’s brave. And it’s worth investing in. If you’re curious about working together, I offer free 1-hour consultations to explore coaching. We’ll get clear on what you want, what’s in the way, and whether it feels like a fit. Just reply if you’d like to schedule one.
