Last week I talked about how we are always evolving. To continue that discussion a bit this week how about we take a look at progress? In some ways our self-evolution and progress are one in the same. We can't really evolve if we are not making some sort of progress with our goals and our lives overall. I have spent a lot of time on this page talking about not only victories we can physically see and observe with our goals, but the not so visible ones as well. So let's dive into that a bit deeper!
I feel like I pretty much share exactly where the inspiration for most of my posts came from. This post was no different in the sense that it came to me after something that occurred during my week. On Wednesday I had a doctor's checkup. Nothing too exciting. People go to the doctors for checkups all the time. I am someone who always dreads going. At a young age I started gaining weight, so it was always a lecture at every checkup I went to about the need to lose weight and get healthier. So I was extremely pleased with how my checkup went. My blood pressure according to the nurse was almost perfect. They were incredibly pleased to hear about all the exercising I am doing now. We talked about my diet a bit, but instead of a lecture it was a pleasant conversation where I was open about what I know I am doing right and where I know I still need work. She was happy my weight was down from the previous checkup and although I mentioned I wished it was even lower, she said as long as it continues in the right direction she was happy. Overall it was just a very pleasant visit and the results were pleasing as well.
So why do I bring this up? Well let me backtrack just a bit. I was extremely nervous to go to my checkup. I knew my weight was down, but I still have a good distance to go. I assumed my blood pressure was in a much better place because I have focused so much on exercise, but I still am a bigger girl and the two usually go hand in hand. My appointment only solidified that all of my hard work over the past year or so is absolutely paying off. I have been a bit frustrated that the number on the scale isn't budging much, but the results of my physical were very encouraging. I talk about non-scale victories a lot, but to me hearing the doctor tell me to keep up the good work was the biggest one. I am very encouraging to myself, yes, but it truly does help when someone else encourages you as well. I have truly been making progress and some progress as long as it in the in right direction is better than none!
What about other aspects of or lives? Well, the same goes for all of that as well. Maybe you are a writer like me and you have a work in progress that you can only slowly chip away at because it isn't your full-time job. I have been posting on this page and only recently started gaining followers and views. Maybe you are reading a new book but can only read a little bit each week because of your schedule. What about the gym? I know I have mentioned before that when I first started weight training I could not do a back squat with the 45 lbs bar on my back. Just yesterday I did back squats with a total of 165 lbs on my back, but I slowly worked up to that. Sure a lot of things in our lives cannot be done overnight and require time. The most important thing to remember is that if you continue to move forward, you are still making progress.
Live your life looking ahead. As I mentioned before, yes I would like my weight reflected on the scale to be a smaller number, but I now know my hard work is showing directly in my health. The important part is keeping that progress going. Sure I would love to be reading more of Milton's Paradise Lost right now but my schedule has just been so busy with Halloween coming up. I read it when I have spare time, and that is also progress. Life gets in the way of so many things sometimes. A lot of the time our progress comes to a stand still because of a big event that deters our focus. The most important thing to remember, of course, is to keep going as soon as you can. Just as my doctor said about my weight, as long as your progress continues to go in the right direction, you are all set!
