What does progress look like?

What does progress look like?

Progress looks like change and it never happens without effort.

Advancing requires hours of practice, of study, of failing and falling, and then lifting our heads and trying again…stumbling forward. Often it feels like two steps back and one step forward. 

I have experienced this at the piano, in the kitchen, in my attitude, moving in my sneakers, in my faith, and in my writing. It shows up in what I notice, what I feel, what I think, what I say, what I read, and what I learn.

Progress requires change.
 
Sometimes, progress looks like becoming more grounded, letting the roots sink deep into conviction as I continue to learn and dig into foundations for clarity.
 
Other times, progress looks like letting go of what I understood in order to accept what I am learning. 

Progress can be in what I resist and where I surrender.
 
Occasionally, progress looks like starting at the beginning again.

But rarely can progress happen without aching muscles, repetition, endurance testing, emotional tension, or mind-stretching. It all depends on where I am doing the work.
 
Dig. Reach. Expand. Flex.
 
Growth can’t be static.  Progress requires movement, no matter how incremental it may be. Let's continue to dig, reach, expand, and flex, and together we can nudge forward.