Progress Isn't a Contest

Ladies and gentlemen, we're at that stage in our lives. We have childhood friends, so in love, getting engaged and married. We have college friends getting amazing internships and big-kid jobs. Or maybe they're studying abroad or traveling across Europe. You come back home for the summer, and you realize everyone is out living their best lives. You? Well, you're just not. You might be back at home, working at the same minimum wage job you had in high school, chauffeuring your younger siblings around. You might be the most single you've ever been. Whatever you're doing, there's no way it measures up to what Sarah is doing in London, or what Paul is doing at the White House. Here's the thing: your progress is relative to your life, not anyone else's.

Progress isn't a contest. Progress isn't about doing better than anyone else. Progress is about moving along on your specific path in life. You don't have to be doing better than Jimmy to be making progress. In fact, you don't even have to be doing the same as Jimmy to be making progress. You and Jimmy have two completely different end goals, and that's why progress will look different for both of you.

You do whatever you need to do in order to get things do. But whatever you do, don't give up. When life kicks you down, get back up. Keep moving to achieve whatever you want to achieve, no matter how slow or small your steps are.

"Baby steps are still movement"

A good friend once told me this. I didn't understand it at first. Yes, TECHNICALLY and LITERALLY baby steps are movement, but what exactly does that mean?

Babies are PRAISED for taking their first steps. No one ever kicks them down for not being able to ride a bike yet. Why is that? Because babies are in the stage in their lives where they are making progress and growing. You're no different. The stage in life that you're at right now is going to be completely different than literally everyone else's in the world. Your experiences have made your journey a unique one.

No matter what steps you're taking in life right now, whether it be a fabulous engagement or making it to work on time, it is still movement. You are still working towards your end goal, whatever that may be.