Photos by Jemma Beaven Photography
One of the hardest things about personal growth is that we often expect change to feel obvious.
We imagine there will be a moment when confidence arrives. When the anxiety disappears. When we finally feel like the person we’ve been trying to become.
But oftentimes meaningful change rarely announces itself like that. It’s more likely that it happens quietly. So quietly that we can overlook it altogether. Instead, we will notice that we’re still tired. Still uncertain. Still questioning ourselves.
What we don’t notice are the small ways we’ve already begun responding differently to our lives.
It’s time to think of these moments as the evidence of becoming, rather than proof that we’ve finished growing. Looking for the gentle signs that something within us is already beginning to shift.
Why we struggle to recognise our own growth
This is something we’ve seen in people seeking personal growth, in those creators building purpose-led businesses, and in leaders trying to create more human-centred workplaces.
Although their lives look different on the surface, they often describe remarkably similar feelings.
“I thought I’d be further on by now.” “I still don’t feel confident.” “I still have days where I doubt myself.” “I thought I’d have changed more than this.”
The assumption underneath all of these thoughts is the same.
That if they had really changed…they would feel completely different.
But perhaps that’s asking too much of ourselves. Perhaps we’re looking for transformation in the wrong place. Because while we’re waiting to feel different, we may already be behaving differently.
The evidence is rarely found in certainty
It often appears somewhere much quieter.
For example, perhaps you now ask for help when you would once have struggled alone. Perhaps you now pause before reacting. Or you speak honestly instead of trying to please everyone. You allow yourself to say, “I don’t know.” You choose rest over proving yourself. You question beliefs that once felt unquestionable.
None of these moments feel particularly dramatic in and of themselves. They may even feel uncomfortable (like saying no and risk not pleasing people!)…Yet each one is evidence that your relationship with yourself is changing. And it is that relationship where lasting change begins.
The evidence looks different for each of us
If you’re on a journey of personal growth, you may start to notice when you’re becoming kinder towards yourself than you once were. Not perfectly. Not all at once. Just more often.
If you’re building a spiritual led business, perhaps you’re making decisions from your values rather than fear. You’re creating work that feels more like an honest expression of who you are instead of who you think you should be.
If you’re leading others, perhaps you’re becoming less interested in having all the answers and more interested in creating the conditions where other people can discover their own.
From the outside, these shifts might seem small but from the inside, they represent a profound change in identity.
The “why” behind humanistic magick
One of the ideas at the heart of humanistic magick is that sustainable change rarely begins with forcing yourself to think differently. Instead, it grows through experience. Through reflection. Through relationships. Through moments of courage that slowly reshape how you understand yourself.
Practises such as journalling, coaching, therapeutic conversations, symbolic reflection, tarot, meditation and ritual are not intended to replace your own wisdom. They’re there to help you notice it. To help you recognise patterns you may have overlooked. To create space for experiences that gradually become evidence that a different version of you is already emerging.
The mindset often changes afterwards.
Looking for the evidence of becoming
The next time you find yourself thinking, “I’m not changing fast enough” just pause for a moment.
Instead ask yourself, What would an earlier version of me have done here?
Then notice what actually happened.
Perhaps you protected your energy. Perhaps you trusted your judgement. Perhaps you asked a difficult question. Perhaps you remained open when you would once have become defensive. Perhaps you chose alignment over approval.
These moments may never feel like amazing, profound breakthroughs, but over time they become something much more meaningful. They become evidence.
Not simply that you’ve learned something new. But that you are becoming someone new. And perhaps that is the kind of change worth paying attention to.
References
About Humanistic Magick
Humanistic Magick is a psychology-informed framework developed by Andie Brookes that integrates reflective and symbolic practises to support meaningful, lasting personal change. You can explore the full reference guide here https://magentaschoolofmagick.com/what-is-humanistic-magick/
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