The Limits of Their Lens: Why Most People Won’t Understand Your Growth
People see the world through the lens of their own experiences. Their understanding of your path is filtered through their limits, their doubts, and their perspective—not yours. And if their experiences haven’t stretched far enough, neither will their ability to comprehend your ambitions.
This isn’t a reason to seek validation—it’s a reason to stop expecting it.
The more you grow, the more resistance you’ll face from those who can’t comprehend what they’ve never done. You will hear their doubts disguised as concern: “Are you sure this is the right move?” “That seems risky.” “I don’t think I could do that.” But their words reveal more about their own limitations than they do about your choices.
Understanding Is Always Limited by Experience
A person who has never trained for an endurance race won’t understand why you’re waking up at 4 AM to run.
Someone who has never built something from scratch won’t grasp why you’ve quit your comfortable job to take a chance on yourself.
A person who has never pushed past their own fear will never understand why you refuse to let yours control you.
We assume people can see the same vision we do, but vision isn’t transferable. It’s something you develop, not something you explain. And most won’t have the frame of reference to understand your choices because they’ve never stood where you stand.
Why You Need to Stop Seeking Approval
Waiting for people to understand your decisions is like waiting for permission that will never come. The approval you’re looking for—whether from family, friends, or peers—may not be possible, because they simply cannot see what you see.
The biggest mistake people make is assuming that a lack of understanding is the same as a lack of support. They’re not the same. Someone’s inability to grasp your path doesn’t mean they’re against you—it just means they can’t lead you where you need to go.
That’s why external validation is a weak foundation for growth. It’s unreliable, inconsistent, and often misguided. The only approval that matters is your own.
Move Without Explaining
You don’t owe anyone an explanation for why you’re choosing to grow beyond what they know.
Some people will ask questions because they’re curious. Some will question you because they don’t believe in themselves, and your ambition makes them uncomfortable. Others will dismiss you entirely because they fear what your progress says about their stagnation.
None of this has anything to do with you.
If you want to grow, you have to move anyway. You have to be willing to let people misunderstand you, to doubt you, to project their own fears onto your journey—and still go forward.
Your Path, Your Perspective
The only person who needs to understand your vision is you. The only validation that matters is what you build through action. The only lens that should guide your decisions is the one you forge by pushing past your own limits.
Most people won’t understand your growth. That’s okay. It’s not for them—it’s for you.