The Personal Growth Project

seeing beauty in the ephemeral

Avigail Laing — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:20:00 GMT

there’s no way to predict where the future will take me—i’m not going back to school like i normally would. in fact, i’m taking the semester off in attempts to transfer to another school.

i don’t know where i’ll be living a month from now.

i don’t know who will be in my life—if anyone. if i move back home, i will likely be alone.

i don’t know if i’ll make …

your potential is infinite.

Avigail Laing — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:06:15 GMT

a business that earns millions. a master’s degree. a newsletter read by thousands. a youtube channel with 100,000 subscribers. a job with the best company you could imagine. a huge audience on your social media page. a body with sculpted abs and toned muscles.

it’s all yours.

…if you:

a. grab hold of the little moments.

b. exit autopilot mode by reigniting…

22 reasons to not give up on love

Avigail Laing — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 16:25:01 GMT

interlinked

there are many reasons i feel fortunate to be alive, but one of the primary ones is love.

what a gift it is to share this world with so many other people, and to have so many opportunities each and every day to share warm moments with the soul of another.

without further ado, here is a list of my favorite of those moments i’ve experienced (this…

how i’m going to change the world with consistent imperfection

Avigail Laing — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:31:38 GMT

my biggest regret in 2024 was taking a break from writing & making youtube videos. it was such a mistake.

the only two goals i have for 2025 are to stop being afraid to shine and to show up consistently, even if it’s imperfect

if you’re a fellow content creator, read this & regain your spark for creating content this year:

i quit youtube for my first semes…

healthy relationships are uncomfortable, but worth it

Avigail Laing — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:18:07 GMT

i once saw a post talking about how healthy relationships will bring light to your bad qualities, and i remember thinking about how much i didn’t want that.

because isn’t healthy love supposed to just be positive? and enjoyable? and fun? and validating?

no.

let’s first look at this biblically, then we’ll talk about the actual substance of the issue.

if you…

life doesn't start until your fear of heartbreak stops

Avigail Laing — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 07:09:19 GMT

what if you let yourself feel it all?

what if you led with your heart, even at the risk of being ravaged by soul-shattering pain?

what if you left your shell of emotional safety and allowed yourself to experience the deep, satiating moments that your soul has been begging for?

in the best-selling book women food and god, geneen roth presents us with a reve…

how to adjust to new chapters in life without becoming stressed

Avigail Laing — Sun, 02 Jun 2024 19:31:28 GMT

one of the most shocking truths of life is the fact that even positive change can be hard to adjust to.

one day, you will get everything that you’ve ever asked for—friendship, love, accomplishments, travel opportunities, new clothes, and better skin.

and all of a sudden, you’ll feel strange about it.

like somehow the delivery was addressed to the wrong per…

maybe some days are meant to be boring

Avigail Laing — Mon, 13 May 2024 20:29:48 GMT

to be honest, i’ve hung out with people every day this week, so when i got home with absolutely nothing to do today, i felt an uncomfortable feeling of isolation.

i’ve never had a problem with being alone, but since i don’t have to go to school anymore, it’s very depressing to not get to see my favorite people on a daily basis anymore.

and thus, in an att…

how to know if something is actually right for you

Avigail Laing — Tue, 07 May 2024 20:03:23 GMT

As my graduation nears, I’ve been thinking a lot about the past, and I can’t help but laugh.

There have been so many times that I’ve been convinced that something or someone was just what I needed, only to be completely wrong in the end.

Discernment is a skill that takes practice.

But as of lately, I’ve had many blessings fall into my life, and I now know …

Why You Sabotage Yourself Every Time You Start Making Progress

Avigail Laing — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 22:07:07 GMT

Perhaps our issues in life have less to do with the fact that we’re “lazy” and more to do with the fact that we’re afraid.

We make big changes, revert back to our old ways, then change again.

Over & over.

It’s what we all do as humans.

I used to chalk it up to a lack of motivation—if you start a healthy diet and quit, you’re simply too unmotivated to make i…

A Much-Needed Update

Avigail Laing — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 19:51:59 GMT

so, for reasons i have since forgotten, i failed 75 hard.

i then devolved into about a month of stress-eating sugar while i waited to hear if my dream college admitted me or not.

i likely gained a good 5-10 pounds from my month of stress, but luckily, i now have a good 6 months to tone up before going to my dream college (i got in).

reflecting on the fai…

Why We Should Renew Our Sense of Childlike Enthusiasm

Avigail Laing — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 02:34:52 GMT

“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.”

—Aldous Huxley

As one does, I found myself with a spare moment and went through all of my old photos tonight.

I scrolled all the way back to 2021—the year I was 15, very cheerful, and very naive.

Admittedly, I realized that while I was unsatis…

How God Can Change Your Heart In One Night

Avigail Laing — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 02:35:43 GMT

“Love is the ultimate meaning of everything around us. It is not a mere sentiment. It is truth; it is the joy that is at the root of all creation.”

—Rabindranath Tagore

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put all of it into words, but I think the entire trajectory of my life changed tonight.

In a good way. In the best way, honestly.

I have so many things I…

Resisting Spiritual Warfare

Avigail Laing — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 03:51:57 GMT

“For though we walk in flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”

—2 Corinthians 10:3-4

We have to be aware of the fact that we are powerful and capable beyond belief.

I don't like dwelling on the negative, but we must thus realize that this capabi…

A Feeling of Fulfillment

Avigail Laing — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 02:07:25 GMT

“Life is so much easier than you think it is, and as you come to understand the way life works, and the power you have inside you, you will experience the magic of life in its fullest.”

—Rhonda Byrne

Today’s post isn’t going to be long.

I feel really happy, honestly.

Very fulfilled right now—I just dance through my days with this feeling that my soul is p…

On The Infinite Nature of Humanity

Avigail Laing — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 02:25:29 GMT

“Life is not about finding our limitations—it’s about finding our infinity.”

—Herbie Hancock

My answer to the above questions is no—for the past month, I’ve grappled with the feeling that I’m not as productive as I used to be. I wondered if I’d lost the fire that I had when I was 15 and beginning my journey to transform my life.

But stepping back made me …

The Transformative Power of Running

Avigail Laing — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 16:15:09 GMT

“As we run, we become.”

—Amby Burfoot

I used to be the worst runner ever—couldn’t even make it 0.25 miles without getting out of breath.

I had a bad relationship with my body too, focusing more on aesthetics than actual health.

But getting myself to try running has transformed my life in so many ways—I started by training for a 5k in July, then a 10k in Nov…

When God Prunes People From Your Life

Avigail Laing — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 01:48:30 GMT

“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

John 15:2

Today was not the best day for me.

Spiritually, it was above average, but my spiritual gains seemed to immediately translate to severe change in my life.

Namely, the immediate pruning of many people from my lif…

Embracing Your Quirks

Avigail Laing — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 16:02:36 GMT

“Embrace who you are. Learn to be comfortable with who God made you. Develop the mindset that the creator doesn’t make mistakes.”

—Pierre Alex Jeanty

There is truly no denying it—I am not the coolest person.

For years, I have spent my lunch periods studying in the library.

I’m not very extroverted, and I tend to keep to myself.

I just feel very comfortable …

When Life Moves Too Quickly

Avigail Laing — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 02:45:45 GMT

“While we wait for life, life passes.”

—Seneca

I truly have no idea what happened to make the past week fly by so quickly, but here we are—my deepest apologies for failing to publish these posts daily.

It feels like the days have all blurred together, and sometimes I’ll wake up in the afternoon to half of the day being gone already.

I was supposed to come h…