Making progress: Celebrating big wins and small wins

What progress will you celebrate today?

A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremonies for one of my nephews. I loved the pomp and circumstance (and the song too) of the processions, the gowns of the graduates and the esteemed faculty, and the hope that each had for a future where all their hard work will pay off. They were celebrating progress, a huge accomplishment, and one that can never be taken away from them. They were celebrating progress, as they should.

But what is progress? If I pass a class? Is that progress? What if I fail a class? Is that progress? As I continue to build my own future and discover each day who I am becoming, I recognize that any step bringing me closer to my goal and to my destiny is progress. Passing a class or failing a class is progress. Why? Because I took the bold step of taking the class. What did I learn from passing, and what did I learn from failing? That is the question.

So what if I'm wasting time mindlessly scrolling on social media. Is that progress? The answer is no, but only because I used the term "mindlessly". If I am "mindfully" scrolling on social media, engaging in content that inspires me and pushes me to dream more, do more, and be more, that's progress. Many times we vilify a medium. There is nothing wrong with any particular medium. It's more about what we do with it.

My word for this year is Progress. I chose Progress as a contrast to perfection and as a contrast to completeness. This year I won't be perfect and I won't have completed everything I set out to do, but I will make progress. We completed our Leadership Accelerator pilot program, I've coached multiple clients, I've spoken at multiple events, I have evaluated multiple businesses, and by the time this is published, we will have launched our website.

Let's celebrate all our milestones, big and small, wins and losses. Each of them is teaching us, pointing us to the future we are building for ourselves. Let's build together!

Camille B.

---