It Is Time To Repot?

When You’ve Outgrown Where You Are

A lady once bought a small potted plant for her office. At first, it was doing well. You know, fresh leaves, steady growth, everything normal.

But after a while, she noticed it wasn’t growing anymore. It was not dying, but it was not moving either. She watered it, rotated it towards the window, even bought ‘plant food’. Nothing changed.

One weekend, she took it home to recheck the soil, thinking that maybe she wasn’t caring for it properly. That was when her mum, who has been gardening for years, looked at the plant and said, ‘This pot is too small. The roots don’t have space anymore’.

They turned the pot over, loosened the soil, and true to her mum’s words, the roots were curled tightly around themselves with nowhere else to go. The plant had reached the limit of what that pot could offer.

There was nothing wrong with the pot. It had served its purpose. But the plant had simply outgrown it.

They moved it into a bigger pot, and within weeks, it started changing. New leaves. Faster growth. More life. That was when it dawned on the lady that the plant was not stagnant. All it needed was more space.

Some of you reading this are in that exact position. You’ve outgrown an environment, and your soul can feel it. What used to fit comfortably now feels tight. What once stretched you now bores you. Something in you is itching for more, and you are trying to force yourself to stay where you’ve already outgrown. That tension you are feeling is called GROWTH.

So, what do you do? You RE-POT. You move into a new environment.

---

Let me show you what this looks like in real life so you know you’re not imagining things.

For example, you might be doing well at your job, but deep down, you know you’ve stopped growing. You have mastered your tasks too well, so it feels like you’re repeating the same year over and over. It’s just a sign that the job has given you all it can give, and you’re ready for more. So you can ask to be promoted(more responsibilities), change departments, or look elsewhere.

Or even the athlete who has mastered the drills in her local training ground. She has reached a level where she needs tougher competition, stronger mentors, and a different environment to keep improving. Staying in the same space her sage, but it will only cap her potential.

The simplest example I can give is that of a child’s clothes. When the clothes stop fitting, nobody says the child is ungrateful. The child has grown and bigger clothes will have to be bought for him or her. It’s as simple as that.

As adults, we struggle with this truth.
We feel guilty for wanting more.
We feel ungrateful for outgrowing places we once prayed for.
We force ourselves to remain where we no longer fit because leaving feels like betrayal.

But growth is not betrayal. Growth is simply growth.

And sometimes, growth looks like outgrowing the circle you’ve been in for years. It doesn’t mean the people are bad. It just means your needs, values, pace, or direction have shifted. You can still love them and keep them in your life, but you may need a new circle that challenges you, teaches you, and pulls you upward. A circle where you’re not the one always giving the advice, leading the ideas, or carrying the weight.

It is not a flex to be the smartest person in every room. In fact, it should worry you.

A room that once helped you shine can become the room that now keeps you small.

So make it your duty to be in spaces where you are the least experienced and the least knowledgeable. These are the rooms that force you to grow, learn, and humble yourself again.

When you eventually rise and become ‘the best’ in that room, don’t sit there and polish your crown. Move again. Reach again. Grow again.

There is always another level, another challenge, another skill to master.

Our goal is to become experts, yes, but even experts keep taking on things that stretch them. Growth will always demand more space.

Your goal is not to remain comfortable but to keep becoming.

And to become, you must accept when a place has finished its assignment in your life. You must make peace with change, even when the change feels inconvenient.

If you stay where you’ve outgrown, you may not do badly, but you will do far less than your potential.

And just so you know, your current environment doesn’t have to be terrible before the next one becomes necessary. If you’re no longer growing where you are, maybe it’s time.

Bottom line here is: Growth always requires a new ecosystem.

I hope you find the strength and the courage to make the move.

As always, I’m rooting for you.

_Chinaza Favour

---