The Egg and the Chick
A chick cannot come from an egg unless the egg first gives up being an egg; likewise a thing must first reach the level of ayin before it can become something new.
The Maggid pointed to nature. One thing cannot change into another kind of thing, as an egg becomes a chick, unless it first lets go of its former nature entirely. Only after that can something new come from it. In the same way, everything must first rise to the level of ayin, nothingness, before it can become something else. The same holds for miracles, which change the natural order: the thing must first be raised to ayin, and only then does Hashem draw down the new form from there. As an example he cites the Ramban on the letter hey added to Sarah's name, which first raised her so that she could bear a child. Growth, in this teaching, starts with the willingness to let go of what we already are.
Source: Maggid Devarav LeYaakov, §12
Before you take on another resolution this week, ask what you are holding too tightly: an opinion you always defend, a role you must always play, or a story about yourself that has stopped being true. Name one and loosen your grip for a day. Let someone else lead, admit you do not know something, or simply listen without replying. Notice the space that opens. A seed grows only after it stops insisting on staying a seed.