What Does Progress Look Like?

Progress Isn’t a Straight Line

When we think of progress we tend to think of steady forward movement towards a destination. We imagine a straight line of always positive incline.

But what happens when it feels like we’ve stalled and we’re moving away from our goals? Sometimes we plateau when we forget to implement what we’re learning. Sometimes we dip when we fall back on bad habits. It’s easy to give up at this point, because it feels like we are no longer making progress. But I’ll let you in on a little secret… progress isn’t always onward and upward and it’s not always linear. Progress is a spiral.

Spirals are found everywhere in nature. You can find them in galaxies, flowers, shells, DNA, and weather patterns. Look around, you will surely notice them. Many believe that spirals in nature are so common because it is the most efficient way for something to grow. So why wouldn't your personal growth be a spiral too?

Spirals are the path to progress. You may start off motivated to work towards your goal, then you take time to breathe or process, you might make mistakes, but then you use what you’ve learned during these pauses and dips to trudge towards your goal again. You will move through easy phases and defeating obstacles with inconsistent levels of drive. But even when you feel like you’ve fallen onto the same issue over and over again, you are not where you started because your experiences and new insight may help you handle your challenges differently.

So when you’re feeling frustrated in your progression, go back to the beginning and remember what inspired you to get started in the first place. Embrace the cyclical process and you will always be making progress.