Grow Both Ways: What the Trees Can Teach Us About Real Transformation

Inspired by a post from Myron Golden that hit me straight in the soul.

Have you ever heard something so simple, yet so profound, that it rearranged your whole perspective?

That happened to me last week when I came across an Instagram reel from Myron Golden.

He wasn’t talking about strategy or success or even personal development in the traditional sense.

He was talking about trees. 
Actual trees.

And what he said stopped me cold:

“A tree doesn’t just grow up. It grows down first.”

Let that settle in for a second.

Before a tree ever stretches its branches to the sun, before the blooms and the fruit and the majestic upward rise…
It roots.
Downward.
Into the dark.

And the part that really hit me?

That resistance in the soil—the rocks, the pressure, the push—it’s not the problem. It’s the preparation.

Trees Grow Both Ways

Did you know that trees are both phototropic and gravitropic?
That means they grow toward the light and toward gravity at the same time.

Their roots push into the earth, navigating moisture, darkness, and resistance.
Their trunks and branches stretch toward the sky, drawn to sunlight, spaciousness, and growth.

They don’t just grow one way.
They grow both.

And honestly?
I think that’s the most beautiful metaphor for real transformation I’ve ever heard.

The Root Work Nobody Sees

It’s easy to admire someone’s glow-up.
The abundance.
The radiance.
The confidence.

But what we don’t often see is the grind-down that came before it.

We don’t see the tears they cried alone.
The boundaries they had to set.
The old stories they had to rewrite.
The healing that happened in the dark.

That’s the root system.
And without it?
There is no rise.

Resistance Is Not the Enemy

What if the resistance you’re feeling isn’t a sign to stop...
But a signal that something deeper is strengthening?

What if the discomfort, the slow season, the uncertainty...what if that’s you rooting down?

Because here’s the truth most people won’t tell you:

You can’t rise without going deep.

And not just once.
Again and again.
Growth is a spiral. A cycle.
A dance of rooting and rising, shedding and blooming.

This Is Your Reminder

If you’re in a season that feels more like roots than fruit—
If things feel murky, slow, or heavy—
Don’t write it off.

This is the work.
This is the becoming.
This is the part that will anchor you when the winds come.

Trust the root system you’re building.
It’s what makes the future possible.

Your Soul Check-In

Here’s your invitation this week:

Ask yourself:

• Where in my life am I being asked to root deeper?

• What resistance am I currently facing—and how might it be building my strength?

• What am I cultivating beneath the surface, even if no one else can see it yet?

And maybe most importantly:
Am I honoring the root work as much as I crave the rise?

Journal Prompt

What’s one area of your life where you feel resistance?
How might that resistance actually be helping you grow stronger roots?

Final Words

Growth isn’t just about reaching the light.
It’s about what happens in the dark.
The damp.
The quiet.
The uncomfortable.

If you’re growing down right now,
Trust that you’re also rising.

You’re doing the work that matters most.
And when the time comes, the world will see what you've built.

But for now?

Keep rooting.
Keep rising.
Keep going.

With love and depth,
Melissa 💛

“If you’re unwilling to go down, you cannot go up.” – Myron Golden