“You may not be where you want to be, but you can look back and be thankful you’re not where you use to be.”
-Unknown
“Progress is progress no matter how small.” That’s one thing I remind myself of daily because, it’s so easy to overlook the progress you’ve made when life is so forward focused. I often challenge myself to stop, reflect, and remember how far I have come. This helps to encourage me to continue to move forward because when I remember how far I have come, I understand the potential of how far I can go.
Have you ever taken a step back to reflect on how far you’ve come? Think about how much you have changed over the years for the better. It’s so easy to get discouraged because you are not where you want to be but, at least you’re not where you use to be. That last sentence deserves a praise break right? You have come so far! Do you remember those times when you use to pray for the things you have now? Do you remember those times when you didn’t know how you were going to make it through but you did anyway?
Celebrate, reflect and remember the small steps forward because it will help you realize exactly where you are and give you hope for what’s to come. This week my family and I are celebrating my middle child’s birthday. Seeing how excited she is about celebrating this new chapter of her life made me think of the importance of celebrating progress. Having a birthday party with friends and family is one of the ways she wants to celebrate. As I reflected about celebrating this milestone in her life it made me think of how important it is to celebrate the small steps forward we make in our daily lives and how big of an impact it can have in helping us shift and transition through each season of life.
One thing I have been celebrating is how much progress I have made with my health journey. I have come so far and this journey has become a lifestyle. The last few years I celebrated reaching my weight loss goals and this year I am working towards my strength training goal. This has been a long process but as I look back I remember the goals I set and just seeing the results and the progress I have made is worth celebrating. It took a lot of hard work and sacrifice for me to achieve the results I have gotten. Taking the time to look back and reflect on this progress reminds me that I can really do whatever I put my mind to. These are some things I have learned about the importance of celebrating progress from my personal journey:
1.) Celebrating progress helps build momentum
When you stop to remember how far you’ve come it helps to motivate you to keep pushing forward. That brings a new level of excitement to your life and it helps you to keep pushing forward. The more I celebrate the pounds I have lost the more it encourages me to keep going.
2.) It helps you to remember what’s possible
When you realize how far you’ve come you begin to recognize the potential of how far you can go. Think about a time when you accomplish something you worked very hard to achieve. Didn’t it give you hope to dream bigger and go after more?
3.) It helps you to appreciate the journey
Celebrating your progress helps you to enjoy the journey. You work hard so your progress is worth celebrating. I have really been enjoying this health journey and taking time to stop and celebrate has encouraged me and helps me to appreciate every milestone I reach.
I just want to encourage you to keep moving forward and celebrating the small things. Don’t give up because of how things may currently look, focus, take a deep breath and celebrate where you are. Today is a new day, God woke you up this morning. You are still alive, you are taking time to read this post, you have the ability to think, process, create, heal, etc. So much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate. I want to challenge you to take some time and write down some of the recent things you accomplished and reflect on those things.
Celebrate the small wins you’ve accomplished because those wins will build overtime. I hope this encouraged you today.
What are some of the things you are celebrating in this season? Thanks for reading. Please comment below would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Intentional Hope 