Leadership Quote by Anne Northup

“Sometimes growing pains are by fits and starts” is politician-speak at its most strategic: soothing, flexible, and hard to argue with. Northup’s phrasing turns the messy reality of change into something almost clinical. “Growing pains” frames disruption as evidence of health, not failure. It’s a rhetorical move that recasts layoffs, program overhauls, policy backlash, or institutional stumbles as the necessary soreness of progress. If you’re hurting, that’s not a sign to stop; it’s proof you’re developing.

The key is “sometimes,” a softener that widens the quote’s usefulness. It preempts absolutism and inoculates the speaker against being pinned to a specific outcome. Then comes the rhythm: “by fits and starts.” The idiom acknowledges uneven momentum, but it also normalizes it. That’s the subtext: don’t judge this project (or administration, or reform) by its jagged timeline. Setbacks aren’t disqualifying; they’re part of the expected pattern.

In a political context, this is especially handy because it speaks to two audiences at once. To supporters, it’s reassurance: the bumps aren’t betrayals, just turbulence on the way to a better destination. To skeptics, it’s a preemptive defense: impatience becomes unrealistic, criticism becomes shortsighted. The line’s power is its emotional management. It doesn’t promise speed or perfection; it asks for endurance, converting frustration into a kind of civic maturity.