Why Grow? The Raw Question Most People Avoid

It always begins with the same question.

What’s the point of life? What’s the purpose?

We’ve heard the same answers, the same recycled philosophies.

They say — "There's no right or wrong answer. It’s all personal."

They say — "Find your own path."

And sure, I used to nod along to all this.Until one day, I paused and asked:

Is there no lens at all that universally applies?

Sure, everyone’s life is different. But does that mean there’s no simple, clean lens that applies to everyone?

Not the exact paths. But at least the lens itself?

Most would say no.Even the smartest philosophers would hesitate.

Monish Pabrai, for example, famously did a psychologists self-assessment study. Researchers interviewed his family, his peers, his friends — tried to draw a picture of what his life purpose might look like.

And sure, tools like these exist. You can find budget-friendly versions too if you dig deep enough.

But here’s the real trap.They only work if you first STOP the treadmill.

Because most people won’t even stop.They won’t pause long enough to ask:"Is my life on autopilot?"

Stopping is more painful than running.Running on the treadmill of routine is easy.Stopping to ask, "Why am I even running?" — that’s hard.

Unless life slaps them hard enough, they won’t even look at the lens, forget about using it.

The quote that snapped me out

For me, it was Swami Vivekananda.

He said the purpose of life is simple:

Grow physically. Grow mentally. Grow spiritually.

That’s it.That’s the universal lens.That’s the only rule that applies to anyone.

Growth is everywhere

When you strip away the noise, you see it everywhere.

Saints and sages — grow spiritually, ignore the physical.Athletes and adventurers — stretch the physical to extremes.Scientists and mathematicians — push the mental frontier.

But they’re all still growing. Growth is the only thing that’s common.

And now what about those who resist growth? Those who say they don’t want to grow physically, mentally, or spiritually? They are not living in alignment with nature.

They are living against it.

Growth is not a feel-good aspiration.

It’s hardwired into life itself.

Look at any tree. It doesn’t debate whether it wants to grow.Even battered by winter, it blooms again in spring. Deserts, snow, everywhere there is life and it grows.

Cells multiply. Species evolve. Humans reproduce.

Everything screams growth. It’s the default state.Not growing is the anomaly.

And if someone refuses to grow, chances are, they’ve been blocked.

By trauma.

By circumstances.

By substances.

Growth is the natural state. Stagnation is the exception. And that alone is enough.

We can debate the dimensions. We can write entire books about the phases of growth. Maybe I will — in a separate article.

But for now, sit with this uncomfortable, raw truth:

You have to grow. You don’t need a reason beyond that. Because everything in you and around you is designed for it.

Also Read Growth Is Universal — But Felt Differently by Everyone