Progress over perfection

Today, I realized how profoundly quiet progress can be. As professionals, we're constantly evolving, but sometimes it takes a moment of reflection to truly appreciate how far we've come.

In the past year, I've navigated significant life changes - relocating, starting over, and making the terrifying move to full-time freelancing. These major life changes took an emotional tole on me and through out this period of change, I found myself turning to exercise to distract and quiet my mind on the heaviest of days.

Two years ago, I was in my most unhappy & unhealthy state and a friend reached out to see if I wanted to join her for a pilates class. To this day, I still remember how much I struggled in that class. I was in so much pain that I counting down the minutes till the class was over.

Yesterday, I had one of those days where I needed to refocus and distract myself so I went back to that same pilates studio , same reformer, and oddly had the exact same instructor as that first class two years ago. To my amazement, what once seemed insurmountable now felt easy. It wasn't the class that had changed - I had grown stronger, both physically and mentally.

This experience reminded me of an important lesson in our professional lives: Progress isn't always visible day-to-day, but it's happening. Every challenge we face, every skill we hone, every obstacle we overcome is shaping us into more resilient, capable versions of ourselves.

To my fellow professionals: Celebrate your journey. Acknowledge the small victories. Remember, the most profound growth often happens when we're not looking. Keep pushing forward, and one day you'll look back in awe at how far you've come.