Addicted to Growth
Question of the day: what if we never stopped growing? Physically, I mean. What if, for our entire lives, we were on a continual growth track that pointed in one direction: up. Well for one thing I’d imagine that there’d probably need to be elevators everywhere. Stores, restaurants, and schools would need to accommodate the shorter populace and the tallest. Maybe we’d utilize outdoor spaces more. I don’t have a clue how transportation or cars would work!
When you think about constant, non-stop growth that way, it really does seem ridiculous, and yet, we place that expectation on ourselves emotionally, mentally, and socially all the time with goal after goal. Growth is necessary for a healthy, thriving life of course, but it might surprise you to learn that even growth has a dark side. Growth without any brakes, without any rest, is just a recipe for disaster. We’re not like sharks who have to swim non-stop just to keep oxygenated water passing through their gills. We’re humans, and as such we were designed to alternate between periods of growth and rest, times of active learning and relaxing reflection.
Author and speaker Stephen Jenkinson says it beautifully in his book “Come of Age”, “Consider the tumour. I am no anatomist or oncologist but it strikes me that a tumour might be best understood as growth. When has it grown enough, so it can finally just be a tumour and stop growing towards being one? The only answer I can think of… is this: there is no end to the tumour’s growth. A tumour is a relentless incarnation of growth for the sake of growth. The end result? A tumour loses by winning. It kills what it draws nourishment from. It grows itself to death.”
He makes a valid point. More economists and activists are looking at how this very mindset is destroying the eco-structure in various countries and contributing to unhealthy climate change. According to one article, “In the US and Europe, the idea of ‘degrowth’ — a movement around downsizing production and consumption, and moving the economy away from infinite expansion in a just and equitable way — is gaining traction” (Collins, 2017).
How can we practice degrowth in our own lives? By slowing down. By subtracting things from our schedules and lives instead of adding to them (Stulberg, 2021).
My oldest daughter started fourth grade this year as part of a small, community school only four blocks from our home. Because it’s so close, we’ve chosen not to use the car for transportation unless absolutely necessary. Without even realizing it, we subtracted something. Most mornings we snap on our bicycle helmets and pedal off. It’s slower, yes, but it’s also a simple, beautiful way to start the day! What might you be able to subtract from your plate this week?
References:
Collins, J. (2017). Our addiction to growth is harming the climate. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/our-addiction-to-growth-is-harming-the-climate/a-41429203.
Stulberg, B. (2021). Your addiction to ‘growth’ might be making you miserable. Forge. Retrieved from https://forge.medium.com/examining-our-addiction-to-growth-at-all-costs-bbb9a9f80f1a.
Challenges/Points:
Growth for growth’s sake can become toxic and damaging. We were made for periods of growth and of rest.
Just as a tumour grows itself to death, so non-stop growth will cost us in the end.
The answer to non-stop growth is degrowth, slowing down, and subtracting things from our plates instead of constantly adding to them.
Questions:
How much of your week is dedicated to growth vs. absorbing through relaxation?
Have you ever thought of growth as needing boundaries?
What’s one area where you can slow down or choose to embrace degrowth?
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