I once heard that developing yourself is like “building a skyscraper.”

You dig. You dig deep. Deep into the earth to create a foundation to support the huge structure. The higher you want to build the structure, the deeper you have to dig into the earth, to begin with. After hearing this, it was as if someone sang a familiar melody to the beat of my heart. I needed to dig deep.

I remember the days I would jump into the Jeep with my mom and drive up to the lake when life got to be “too much.” As I sat alongside her, top down on the car, and John Mayer's voice trailing behind us as we drove down the road. I could breathe. Breathe easy.

I was able to be a witness to the skyscraper that my mom and my dad had spent their whole life, every day of their marriage, building. They are a strong, successful team, faithful followers of God, and above all else, devoted servants to his work on this earth. They built their family with integrity, humility and passion for the work they do on this earth. Each of them, together have dug deep.

Now, as a sophomore in college, building a skyscraper of my own, these memories of my mom and the day trips to the lake, are what send me right back breathing. Breathing easy. These are my roots. My team. My home. But it is so much more than that. These memories are little records of my life, and every moment God has granted me in the process of building my skyscraper.

And it is only after time that I have begun to realize it is these memories, and the people in them, that serve as my roots. My soil in the earth. Digging deep, for me, is about understanding all of who I am. In order for me to be successful in building my life authentically, I need to understand myself; my strengths, my weaknesses, what tugs on my heart and what I want to do with my life.

It is powerful when I begin to challenge myself, or “challenge my architecture” so to speak.

When I begin to challenge myself and ask myself “Why?” I am able to sift through what roots hold strong, and what roots are weak. What roots need to be nourished, and what roots need to be cut. I am able to seek out my own truths that lie within my roots.

There is power behind digging deep.

It is powerful when you are able to explore yourself, for there is so much to find within that beautiful mind and heart of yours. So I challenge you to dig. Dig deep.