Invisible Progress
“It’s not the destination; it’s the journey.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I used to love this quote. Used to live by it any chance I could. Right now, I hate it. The journey is dark. The journey is clumsy. The journey sucks. Whereas the destination is bright, clear, and oh so satisfying.
Two weeks ago, I was telling my therapist that I felt stuck. It had barely been a week into January, and I already felt as if I was struggling to move forward. My goals felt too big and too far away that they seemed impossible to ever attain.
As one’s therapist does, she quickly pointed out all that I had accomplished in between our sessions: website up and running; consistent blog posts every Saturday; pitched two articles to magazines; workouts averaging 3x a week; reading every day in January. All just as I planned. I begrudgingly accepted her point, but didn’t quite believe her until this week.
In January I’ve read all but 2 days; and I’ve finished 3 books. (Which feels like they don’t count since I started each of them in 2024, but that’s another argument.) I’m on track to finish two more by the end of the month.
I’ve written all but 5 days.
I haven’t spent money on any items that weren’t necessities or directly related to my goals.
My weekly workout average is the same and I’m feeling stronger, ready for a harder challenge.
This is significant progress compared to December, let alone all of last year.
Since I track all my goals, I can see the progress I’ve made. Yet, I still feel as though I haven’t made any forward movement. Semantics, but hear me out.
Progress is the daily stuff. The little things we do to move us forward. Without any tracking, it always seems invisible. It’s the sucky journey.
Moving forward is the big thing. It’s the completion of a book, of a project, a workout program, or acceptance of a pitch. These are impossible without the invisible micro-progress of chugging along every single day. They require time, patience, and consistency without any motivating light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s only with my tracking that I feel the slightest reassurance, but it still feels futile.
I have no doubt that I’ll feel proud when I’ve accomplished the things, reached that destination. Finishing something, whatever that is, is a powerful motivator. It yells, ‘See, you can do it!’
But I want to remember that I don’t have to finish something to see progress, to feel as though I’m moving forward.
Breaking old habits of watching YouTube for hours on end, or doom scrolling, or empty tv that’s just on in the background — these are things that don’t actually make me feel fulfilled at all. They take away from any progress or forward movement that I could have. I may not have tracked the lessening of those habits, but since I have tracked the more of my passions, I can say that I’ve stopped the numbing out. I have put my head down and read and written and picked up the weights.
Completion may feel like moving forward, but the invisible steps of progress are more important than anything. The only way to completion is progress.
I’ve made great progress this last month, even though I feel no closer to my goals. Even though it’s been monotonous. Even though I’ve had to be disciplined and do the thing when I really didn’t want to. The journey has not been fun, but it’s been done. So here’s to celebrating progress, even when it feels invisible.
