Calm in the Chaos - Tips for a Better Life
How to Handle S-L-O-W Progress (a.k.a. How to Keep Going When You Feel Like Nothing Is Moving Forward)
by Jamie Spannhake
November 09, 2019
I'm not naturally a patient person. I must breathe a lot for patience. As you know, meditation helps me with this, as does yoga, running, and occasionally wine. :-) Because of my natural inclinations, I like for things to happen quickly -- especially progress.
House renovation? Must have significant progress every day! Starting a new business? Must crush it right out of the gate! I'm sure you have examples of these kinds of long-term projects that Just. Take. Time. Even when we work toward them daily and make progress, it can feel like NOTHING is happening.
One of the best ways to alleviate this feeling is to write a list of all your successes with that project and in life. I recently did this. I was feeling like progress was too slow in my career. So, I sat down and wrote out some of my successes in 2019. I listed NINETEEN, and when I look at them, I think "Bam, I have accomplished a lot this year!"
This is really important, not only because it gives us the space to breathe and think about next steps, but because it motivates us as we congratulate ourselves and feel grateful for the progress we have already made.
Write out a list of your successes in 2019. It can be big things and little things, extravagant and mundane. Don't deprive yourself of the feelings of success by thinking of any items as too small or insignificant to be on your list of successes. Here are a few "little" things from my list that might seem unimportant, but really are great successes:
-Found a great voice and piano teacher for my daughter. Seems like a little thing, but this is really important to Sarah. And because Sarah has ADHD, finding the right teacher was crucial to ensuring that she didn't have a negative experience that destroyed her absolute love of music. Success!
-Adopted and integrated 2 cats into our home. This was challenging because we have 2 old dogs, one of whom is cranky. It was important to make this a process -- that took 3 weeks, which felt like forever -- so that no pet got hurt or felt threatened or aggressive about the other. I was patient and worked with all the animals, and we all live happily together now!
-Parented my daughter. I see this as a success because she is happy and healthy and I'm trying really hard to be a great mom and do other things that are important to me. Even responsibilities and obligations can be successes, so don't forget to include those on your list.
What successes have you had lately? Celebrate yourself for them!
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