Progress Is Oftentimes Imperceptible
It has been a great year of change for many of us, and many of my clients, friends, and family members often mention how their physical activity has decreased because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I think we can all relate to this to varying degrees. Prior to March 2020, I enjoyed personal training and group classes at the YMCA - this was a positive and motivating environment for me to achieve my fitness goals, and even though I had been through the process of two pregnancies (the second with multiples), I had never felt more fit than I did prior to the pandemic. Of course, doors closed, and I have not been able to go back since early March 2020.
In the meantime, I have started using the Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club apps to keep me motivated toward maintaining my fitness goals. I definitely have moments were I’m discouraged and uncertain about whether I will ever have the level of fitness I had over a year ago - but, then, I listed to a podcast by my new (virtual) Coach Bennett who reminded me of this sage philosophy: “progress is defined as the development to a higher, better, or more advanced stage, often witnessed in small, almost imperceptible ways.”
When we hear or read about progress in the (social) media, it is often portrayed in this flourishing, grandiose way that makes most of us feel like failures, ashamed we aren’t able to showcase our growth in a more dramatic and significant way. And this, truly, is a myth. Because when it comes to everyday people like you and I, progress is just teeny tiny steps that we take every day, but that make a big difference for us in the long run. Because progress is really about movement, and movement is in all of us, every day, no matter how near or how far we get.
