The Agitation of Elevation: Why Discomfort is Your Promotion Notice

There is a specific kind of restlessness that hits a leader right before a breakthrough. It is not the anxiety of failure; it is different. It feels like the room has suddenly become too small. Conversations that used to satisfy you now feel shallow. Strategies that used to work now feel obsolete.

I call this The Agitation of Elevation.

We often mistake peace for progress. We assume that if we are in the will of God or aligned with our purpose, everything should feel smooth, settled, and quiet. But physics teaches us otherwise. A rocket on the launchpad sits in stillness, but the moment of launch—the moment of elevation—is violent. It is loud. It is shaking.

If you are feeling shaken right now, I want to offer you a different perspective: You are not falling apart; you are being prepared for a higher altitude.

The Eagle and the Thorns There is a profound lesson in how an eagle mother prepares her eaglets to fly. When it is time for them to leave the nest, she does not gently coax them. She begins to stir the nest. She removes the soft feathers and fur that made the nest comfortable, exposing the sharp thorns and sticks beneath.

Suddenly, the place that was their sanctuary becomes a source of pain. The eaglet becomes agitated. It is this agitation that forces the eaglet to step out onto the branch, and eventually, to trust its wings.

Many of you are in a "stirred nest" season. Your job has become uncomfortable. Your circle of friends feels misaligned. The methods you used to build your business are no longer yielding results. You are frustrated. But you must realize that comfort is the enemy of the next level. If you stayed comfortable, you would never fly. You would die in the nest.

Discomfort is Data When we feel this agitation, our instinct is to retreat. We try to fix the nest. We try to put the soft feathers back. We apologize for our growth.

But leaders must view discomfort as data. It is information telling you that your capacity has outgrown your container.

• Agitation signals transition. It means the old season is expiring.

• Agitation requires separation. Elevation requires isolation. You cannot take everyone with you to the next level of altitude.

• Agitation precedes acceleration. The tension you feel is the pulling back of the bowstring. You are being pulled back so you can be propelled forward.

The Faith Component From a spiritual perspective, agitation is often the Holy Spirit disturbing your status quo. It is the wrestling match before the blessing. Jacob wrestled in the dirt before he became Israel. If you are wrestling, do not let go until you get your blessing. Do not let go until you understand why you are being shaken.

A Challenge to Stand My friend, if your life feels turbulent today, stop trying to quiet the storm and start checking your wings. You are not losing your mind; you are locating your future. Do not medicate the agitation. Do not run from it. Lean into it. Ask yourself: "What is this discomfort trying to push me toward?"

The shaking is not the end. It is the announcement that you are ready to rise.

Stay transformed.

#TransformationalLeadership #AgitationOfElevation #CareerGrowth #Purpose #LeadershipDevelopment #DrJide #TMN