Abraham Maslov once said, “One can choose to go backward toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”
We are connected with a Higher Power that is itself moving forward, constantly growing and evolving. Because of that, our souls are moved forward as well (whether we know it or not). Meaning, the inner part of us, our essence-spirit-soul-consciousness, is continuously increasing in power.
When we choose safety (comfort), we misuse that soul empowerment. In order to succeed in our spiritual development, we must overcome fear. We must grow our human aspects, such as the personality and emotional IQ, in alignment with the evolution of our soul/consciousness. Otherwise, chaos ensues …. because when we are not making growth a conscious choice, life will throw us curveballs to get us to move forward. Some people try to empower the human aspects without growing spiritually, but that causes problems as well. Both must be accomplished together, in balance.
Another way to say this is that life, God, is always evolving. Our soul energy is part of that evolution. When we focus on the growth and development of both our soul/spirit and human levels, we empower virtues, strength, wisdom, awareness, and joy. When we grasp onto safety, comfort, and the familiar, we empower vices, negativity, weakness, and unawareness. We cause our own pain, or we create our joy.