Growth

For Meagan, growth isn’t a checkbox. It’s a natural mindset. Whether she’s feeding an infant at work or planning the next chapter of her own life, she’s energized by the process of learning, adapting, and stretching herself toward something new.

She now works with infants and often seeks new ways to approach familiar challenges. “If we have a baby who wasn’t taking a bottle,” she recalls, “my first instinct is to look for a training or technique that could help.” She might find something through a quick search, stumble across a new feeding strategy on Instagram, or test an idea she picked up in a parenting blog. If it has the potential to help, she wants to try it. “I go into work excited to share it with the team.”

This eagerness to evolve has always been part of Meagan’s wiring. As a student, she was constantly imagining what program to explore and which direction to pursue. She still enjoys researching graduate schools in her free time, not because she has to, but because she wants to. “To some people that would be draining,” she said. “But to me, it’s not.”

She’s felt the same kind of pull in personal growth moments, too, like when she chose to study in Rome even though most of her closest friends were headed somewhere else. That leap ended up shaping her in lasting ways. “At the time, I didn’t know anyone very well who was going,” she says. “But now, those ’strangers' have become some of my best friends.”

While living in Rome, Meagan volunteered to babysit a five-year-old boy whose family only spoke Italian. They hoped he would learn some English, and she saw it as a chance to help while growing herself. Immersing in another language and culture — even through play — felt exciting and rewarding. It was a perfect reflection of her Growth strength in action.

At the core of Meagan’s Growth strength is a desire to keep moving forward, not just for herself but for the people around her. “I like helping others grow, too,” she says. “I share what I’ve learned so maybe they can try it and benefit in their own way.”

When asked what advice she’d give to someone who wants to maximize their Growth strength, she’s clear: “Start with something you already enjoy. It’s so much easier to grow when you’re learning more about something you already love.”

“Growth means being curious about new ways to approach things—even the ones you already think you know.”

- Meagan