On Leveling Up

Chosen 1’s,

Have you ever leveled up? And I mean, really leveled up. 

I’m not talking about Instagram-caption level up. Or the flexing on an ex-level-up. What I’m talking about is the kind of level-up that humbles you first, then breaks you down and finally builds you back up again.

Almost two years ago, I found myself sitting in the middle of my new, then-empty apartment, feeling a mixture of emotions. Euphoria, strength, confidence, anxiety, pain, and weakness pulled me in opposite directions. I felt powerful, but I felt powerless if I’m being honest. 

At the time, everything I relied on was gone. My comfort zones? Gone. In August 2023, I left my teaching job. Shortly after, I let go of a relationship that once felt like forever until it was no more. The routine, familiarity, and stability I held close to me all vanished in a single season in hopes of getting to whatever next level there was for me. 

For weeks, I sat in those mixed emotions, letting them settle, sting, and sometimes sway me. And here’s what I now understand: I wasn’t just in a tough transition season; I was leveling up. 

Did I level up? Yes, in more ways than one. But the hard truth I learned and walked away with from that period is that leveling up doesn’t come cheap.

Nipsey Hussle once said, "I went through every emotion with tryna pursue what I'm doing." If anybody knew what real leveling up looked like, it was Nip. From my life-altering experience, I believe the price of leveling up is worth every bit of its reward. But what’s the price?

Leveling Up Is More Than Financial Gain

When people think of leveling up, they often think of money first. And while the financial glow-up is nice, what's powerful is when you bloom from the inside out. My level-up wasn't just about bank statements or material things but first about peace, independence, confidence, wisdom, and love. What if your level-up is the gift of having more time? Time to focus on self-improvement. Time to reconnect with your family and friends. Time to rebuild from the inside out. Time to put God first. What if your level-up is peace? A real level-up happens internally first, manifesting to the external afterward. Which is to say, the glow-up, the material and financial gain, or any external level-up are byproducts of an internal gain. Don’t limit your initial level-up to just money. 

Leveling Up Requires Discipline

We all want to level up, but most of us aren’t ready for what comes with a level up. 

The discipline. The sacrifice. The going the extra mile. These requirements come with making it to a new level because, ideally, a level-up is a new level in life, your career, your goals, etc. What good is it to make it to a new level and underachieve there? 

Leveling up requires discipline to keep and appreciate what you've gained. You show that appreciation through being disciplined with your time, body and mind. Because when the excitement fades and the newness of leveling up wears off, and when your win starts feeling more like a responsibility, that’s when the real work begins.

Discipline was my key and strategy to obtain more, and it will be yours. We often fumble opportunities when we’re not ready for them. You want to be a millionaire and stay a millionaire? Then, you’ll need to develop good spending and saving habits. You want to be fit? Then you’ll have to build the discipline to eat right and hit the gym regularly. You want a bigger social media platform? Then you’ll have to post more regardless of how you or your followers feel. The next level will expose or validate your morals and habits. New levels require new habits and routines. What ways can you be more disciplined physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? 

Leveling Up is not just a Prize—It’s a Process

If leveling up were just about getting to the next stage, life would be one big arrival destination. But it’s not. Leveling up is an ongoing process with wins and losses and failures and more failures. Imagine playing the same level of a video game every day. You would without a doubt get bored. Imagine working a job that kept you at an entry position, you’d quit eventually because it's a dead-end job. Growth is about continuously building, tearing down, and rebuilding again. It’s a cycle. A process that repeats itself every time you move forward. The best part about leveling up is that there is room to level up some more. You should always celebrate what you’ve overcome and how much you leveled up, but you shouldn’t stay stagnant and become content at the level you're at. Remember, leveling up is not just a prize; it’s an ongoing journey. 

Leveling Up Requires You to Leave Behind the Old You 

This last point might be the most expensive one yet, and it comes with a huge price tag. It involves the price of shedding who you were to step into who you're becoming. It’s costly and maybe even painful, but it’s worth it. It’s the deliberate act of acknowledging that your old self no longer serves you. It’s the sometimes painful process of not only letting go of a comfort zone but also closing the door to it and ultimately destroying it. It’s the newness of growth and not being able to recognize the new you. It’s you wanting to run back to old levels that no longer serve you or your mission. It’s having the restraint not to. It’s the heartbreak of leveling up—the identity loss that breaks you but builds you. It’s the growing pains of it all. It’s you leaving behind the old version of yourself.  

The truth is this: real level-ups demand discomfort. Just like muscle tears before it grows, the old you has to break so that the new you can take shape. That’s leveling up.

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Understand this Chosen 1’s: if you find yourself in that uncomfortable season, rock bottom, or even plateaued in between what was and what is next to come, know that you’re in the process of leveling up. Don’t rush it. Don’t fight it. And don’t run from it. Take control of what you can. See it through and be patient; there’s a new level on the other side.