How to Know You’re Progressing Even if You Doubt It
Sometimes we don’t see, or rather, think we don’t see progress. But when you are working towards something, you have to understand that each moment that effort is dedicated to working toward a goal is progress.
Whether you see it or not, progress is always there. If you ate healthy for a week and decided that it’s not working (because you haven’t given it enough time), then you definitely won’t see any changes for sure.
If you’ve been eating like shit for years, how do you expect your body to change in only a week? That’s not how it works. When you’re eating healthy your body is updating the system with each meal you eat. So even though the progress is going on, you don’t see that part of it. It’s internal- like some progress is.
Why do we need the physicality of something to believe it’s happening?
Nine out of the ten people who go on a diet quit too fast because they don’t see the progress.
The lack of believing that you are progressing toward your goal stops people entirely from achieving it. They need results immediately otherwise it obviously doesn’t work [sarcasm detected].
But it does, and it is. Progress is a combination of internal as well as external.
If not seeing progress is bumming you out, then there’s a positive way to look at the lack of progress.
For example, if you have recently changed your diet in hope to lose weight, then you may not see those changes in one week. But you can begin to look for progress in other places too, such as how you are feeling physically and mentally.
Take note of how you are feeling compared to how you are looking. When you know that you are doing good things for your body, don’t forget that when you look in the mirror. Tell yourself the progress starts from within.
Pay attention to how you feel and take notes: What changes are occurring? Small or little- change is change. Change is progress. Everything starts from nothing before it turns into something.
When you know you’re doing something healthy for yourself; you can’t forget the overall goal, which is not only to appear better but also to feel better.
If you’re looking for progress in other places in your life, such as growing your business/blog/any other media promotion- then you can track your progress by the following:
1. How many followers you have, or…
2. How many sales you are getting, or…
3. How many more visitors you have to your website, or…
4. etc.,
If you wanted to put in the effort, you could set up a “plan” for whatever it is you are trying to grow.
Let’s say your goal is to make sure at least five people follow you every day. I’m using this goal because I am currently working on my Instagram account for my website www.positivesparkles.com.
Set up your ideal plan: What is your overall goal? What are your small goals that make up your large one? How are you going to monitor the progress?
Here’s my plan for my Instagram account:
Small goal objective: Get at least ten new followers a day
Here is my version of how I track my progress:
- If the number of followers and feedback is increasing: then I’m going to keep up the excellent work.
- If it’s staying neutral: then I have to decide whether to increase my effort towards my account and interacting with people or whether I’m happy with the way it is and to keep doing what I’m doing.
- If it isn’t moving or I’m losing followers: Then I know I have to work harder towards my overall goal. I have to put more effort in.
Unless…I really don’t want to make any changes at all because I don’t really care to make a change or build my instagram account. Sometimes people start something that they don’t really want to change or complete and they lose their momentum when it comes time to push through obstacles.
Setting up little goals can be a great way to keep tabs on how you are doing. You can check off each item as you produce results for it.
Keep in mind that all good, worth it things come in time. People to gain achieve their goals overnight or in a week. Success always comes from hard work. It comes from pushing yourself to be better and to do better. That’s why it’s called success.
You can achieve anything you want, but it’s your choice if you wish to persevere or not. It’s always your choice. Keep your big goal in mind and don’t forget why you started. Hard work is always rewarded, in some way or another.
It’s all about the mindset to keep you going. Start deciding how you’re going to think in a way that is more beneficial to you.
