We are so much harder on ourselves than anyone else could ever be. Why is that? You could be doing everything right, showing up, adjusting, trying again and still feel like it’s not enough. You know why? It’s because we rarely measure progress accurately when it’s our own. We’re just too close to it. All we see are the delays, the messes, how “the others are doing better” and the doubts. We are comparing ourselves to where we thought we would be, or to someone else who looks like they have figured it all out. And in that gap is where you forget just how far you have come.

You are probably doing better than you think. Have you stayed behind to catch up or to try and solve a problem that no one else wanted to deal with? Shown up on the days that felt impossible? Kept trying even when it was confusing or slow? All these count as you doing better. You have adjusted when things changed, you have started again when they didn’t work and held yourself together when you could have broken down. That counts too. We don’t count these things for some reason when they are actually the very things that show growth and show strength. The ones that prove you’re still in it, especially when it’s really hard.