Take Time To Reflect To Gain Reassurance

“Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.”

– Herbert A. Otto

It’s hard to see one’s own growth when we’re in the middle of it, just as it’s hard to observe as a parent the day to day changes of a young infant growing and becoming a toddler.  Because we are with ourselves every single moment of our lives, we are unable to see the minute changes that are occurring, adding up to what will at some moment be recognizable and abundantly obvious to everyone around us and eventually to ourselves.

Everyone has those moments in the middle of a journey toward a particular goal where we feel we’re not making any progress, where we begin to doubt that we can achieve what we set out to so many months and/or years ago.



In such moments, it is imperative to stop, gather our thoughts, toss out the negativity and for a reality check reflect back.  For me, I pull out my journals and flip to the pages that are dated exactly a year or more ago, so that I can visualize who I was and then compare it to who I am now. More often than not, I am reassured that progress has been made. Maybe not leaps and bounds every time, but something positive and beneficial toward accomplishing my goals.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

- Barack Obama

Other tips to keep in mind during such doubtful moments is to stop being so hard on ourselves – don’t lose the positive momentum that has built up, check to make sure the focus is where it should be, and then keep striding forward a little bit each day – a slightly smaller serving size, a few more Lincolns into the savings account each month, completely each task – no matter how simple – to the best of our ability, and not wasting our time on things that don’t matter.



Every positive step taken toward the life each one of us desires and want to live today, is making a difference.  We may not see it now, but we will eventually. Have confidence in the small continued efforts that are building a very solid foundation.

“There are no prescriptive solutions, no grand designs for grand problems. Life's solutions lie in the minute particulars involving more and more individual people daring to create their own life and art, daring to listen to the voice within their deepest, original nature . . .”

- Stephen Nachmanovitch

Images: (1) We Heart It (2) Sebastian (3) Breakfast at Zara’s