Progress is never linear

Most people think of progress towards their goal as steady and linear, moving forever in a forward direction. However progress does not look like this…and let me tell you that this can be a good thing.

Any progress is good progress. We make small decisions each day that bring us closer to our goals – choosing to eat well, forgoing the cake at morning tea, getting in all our workouts, making sure we are sleeping well and practicing self care. When things are going well like this, progress seems effortless. But…life happens! We get sick, we get busy, we make excuses, we drink a bit too much at the party, we eat too much of the wrong food – we are human! This means that sometimes our progress stalls or regresses – we’ve put on weight, we’ve plateaued in the gym, or the centimetres around our waist won’t budge.

Every regression, every plateau, is a moment of reflection on the journey to our goal, and ultimately to success. Look at these challenges as learning opportunities – if we learn something from them, then we are growing and we are still progressing! So you’ve been eating off plan for a couple of weeks without a care in the world and suddenly you’re a kilo heavier on the scales and your pants are feeling a bit tight around the waist. Instead of thinking “I’m not making progress”, get REAL with yourself and recognise why this has happened and get right back onto the horse and doing what you know WORKS. One foot in front of the other, keep going.

There’s an old saying “if it were easy, everybody would be doing it (and be walking around with a six pack!)”. Be one of the few who is realistic about progress, recognise that it is not linear, embrace doing the work, pick yourself back up time and again, correct your course and never quit.