A few weeks ago I stumbled across this photo on Twitter:
It got me to doing some self-reflection and thinking about myself in the past several months and the progress I’ve personally made. From taking new classes, joining new clubs, and surrounding myself with new and amazing people, my life has certainly changed for the better—and I along with it. Progress can’t really be measured through a numerical value, it’s just something we feel inside. It’s different for every person. When we experience progress, and more importantly recognize it, it feels rewarding! It’s like a high that you never want to come down from! You may feel accomplished, excited, maybe even that you have your ~life~ together.
However, life likes to throw the unexpected at us. Whether it be the loss of a family member, a breakup, a relapse, whatever it be, all we want to do is get out of that sadness as quickly as possible and back to that high. When we experience a setback, causing us to fall back to our old ways, it can feel as though we’ve been defeated. We may feel that the growth we thought we were experiencing recently was all just a façade. It is important to remember, especially when falling into a regression, it is never a façade!
In one way or another, self-growth occurred. It is the getting back up from those setbacks that helps us grow! It is how we respond to those challenges that determines if we’ve grown, and if we will continue to grow. Growth is not linear in any way shape or form. Some days we fall back down, but it is the picking ourselves ack up that makes it all worth it.