Fake Growth vs. Real Growth: Why Glow Beats Glitter Every Time

Fake Growth vs. Real Growth: Why Glow Beats Glitter Every Time

The Illusion of Quick Fixes

I have a brand-new way for you to feel fantastic every day, look exactly how you want, and be stronger than all those Instagram Reels you ogle at daily. Best of all, it takes just one minute a day.

Ready?

Wait… you can only find that minute on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Unless something comes up, then maybe just Tuesdays. But you still want the same reward? Hmmm.

You’ve seen the ads: “Flat abs in 25 seconds a day.” “Lose 3 stone by drinking this mushroom tea.” Or the posts that promise, “Just choose happiness and your wildest dreams will come true.”

Maybe you clicked. Maybe you even bought the app. And then three days later… Zac Efron did not walk through your door singing Rewrite the Stars. (A girl can dream.)

I’m not shaming you for wanting a quick fix, Queen. We’re hard-wired to crave fast safety. I’ve fallen for it plenty of times myself.

What Real Growth Looks Like

I once bought the “6-pack abs in 2 weeks” program. Spoiler: I do have abs now — but not from that video.

Why? Because abs don’t appear in 14 days. They take years of consistent training, eating well, sleeping better, and showing up even on the days you don’t want to.

Growth is rarely steady. Sometimes it feels fast, sometimes boring, often frustrating. Sometimes it feels like you’ll never get there. And spoiler #2: you won’t. And you don’t actually want to.

Think about Olympic athletes with Gold Medal Syndrome — they train their whole lives for one moment, win, and then spiral because the dream is “done.” Or brides who call their wedding the “happiest day of their life.” If the best has already happened, what’s left?

Life isn’t about a finish line. It’s about the journey.

Your relationship with yourself is no different. If a brand-new, “perfect” version of you suddenly appeared tomorrow, you’d freak out. Your nervous system wouldn’t know what to do with her. You’d combust. (Extreme, but you get the point.)

Someone once told me: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” I didn’t get it then, but I do now.

Fitness Growth: Slow & Steady

Real growth is in the consistency:

  • Showing up for progressive overload at the gym 3–4 times a week.

  • Returning to your yoga mat and holding poses longer.

  • Walking daily even in the rain.

  • Dancing in your kitchen when you’re too tired to “work out.”

It’s not once-a-month effort. It’s the daily, unsexy choices.

Mental Wellness Growth: Soft but Strong

Growth isn’t only breakthroughs. It’s also:

  • Practicing somatic exercises when you don’t “need” them.

  • Writing your thoughts down to get them out of your head.

  • Honouring boundaries even when it feels uncomfortable.

  • Unclenching your jaw, noticing the breeze, feeling at home in your body.

It rarely looks glittery. But day after day, these choices build the kind of glow that lasts.

The Algorithm vs. Real Life

“Too good to be true” exists for a reason. Whether it’s love bombing or a 2-week 6-pack promise, your body and nervous system know when something’s a scam.

Real growth isn’t flashy. It doesn’t sweep you off your feet. It builds slowly, with trust, with time.

Why Softness Counts as Strength

Consistency doesn’t mean intensity 24/7. It includes rest, slower flows, nourishing food, hydration, and recovery.

Healing isn’t one big ah-ha moment. It’s dozens of tranquilities: a deep exhale, noticing the colour of the sky, the warmth of the coffee in your hands, the safety of being at home in your body.

Fitness is treating your body with respect. Mental health is treating your heart with kindness. Both are strength. Both are growth.

Final Word

Queens, don’t let anyone sell you fake growth — not in your training, not in your healing. Progress doesn’t always sparkle. But when you invest in yourself, in the reps, in the rests, in the routines… you glow.

And glow will always beat glitter.

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