30. G-Force: The Science Behind Growth's Growing Pains
"I used to believe fear meant I was failing. Now I understand it may be evidence that God is helping me grow." - Emily Layton
Opening summary
Have you ever started making positive changes in your life, only to find yourself feeling more anxious, discouraged, or full of self-doubt? Maybe you're trying to strengthen your relationship with God, improve your marriage or family relationships, create healthier habits, or become more intentional in the way you live. Instead of feeling more peaceful, you're wondering if you've made things more complicated, if your growth is affecting your relationships, or if it would simply be easier to return to the status quo than keep pushing through the messy middle of change.
In this episode, Emily shares a personal experience that completely changed the way she understands resistance. As she created a new back-to-school routine centered on living more soulfully aligned, she unexpectedly experienced fear, doubt, and emotional heaviness. Through journaling, Newton's Third Law of Motion, and Lehi's teaching that "there must needs be opposition in all things," she discovered a powerful truth: resistance isn't always evidence that you're failing. Sometimes it's evidence that you're moving forward.
If you've ever questioned yourself because positive change suddenly feels harder instead of easier, this episode will help you recognize resistance with greater clarity, respond with curiosity instead of shame, and continue moving forward with faith.
Expect this episode to help you:
- Recognize why meaningful personal and spiritual growth is often accompanied by unexpected resistance.
- Understand how physical and spiritual laws help explain why positive change can sometimes feel harder before it feels easier.
- Identify all-or-nothing thinking that can quietly undermine your confidence and progress.
- Discern the difference between truth and the fearful stories your mind may be telling you.
- Replace shame and self-judgment with awareness, curiosity, and compassion.
- Continue making positive changes with greater confidence, even when the journey feels messy or uncomfortable.
- Strengthen your trust in God as you become who He created you to be.
More invitations to grow
If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.
Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.
About Emily
Emily Layton is the founder of Grow In the Light. With a master's degree in Family Life Education and a passion for combining gospel principles, brain science, and practical tools for lasting change, she helps women receive light, magnify light, and share light as they become who God created them to be.
Scriptures & references
2 Nephi 2:11 — "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things."
Doctrine and Covenants 45:57 — "Receive the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for your guide."
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
