Take a moment to think about your Progress.  That is a big word with lots of variables and meanings to different people. It may even be a bit difficult to wrap your brain around.  So, try to think in these terms for a bit and see what comes of it for you.  Good luck.

When thinking about your Progress, I believe that you should consider three areas:

1.    The past – only to see where you were then, compared to where you are today, and to use it as a possible learning tool – but NOT to dwell on that place or put up with anything negative, because it is all behind you!  If you get stuck on all that you did wrong in your past, you could remain in that place for a lifetime and miss out on all the possibilities that await you and are intended for you.  The rearview mirror, if moving ahead, only serves as a glimpse of what is left behind, and the view continuously disappears as you travel around another corner or ascend or descend another hill.  Author Beth Moore, in her book, Get Out of That Pit wrote something that I try to live … “Don’t put up with your past.”  If the past has too much presence in your life, it will dominate today and tomorrow for you.  It may become a millstone around your neck and hold you back. There is no purpose in holding on to who you were because yesterday no longer exists.  It will remain who you are today and who you will become tomorrow – only if you are standing still.

2.    The present – to measure the progress you have made and to be encouraged by it!  Comparing yourself to others is often very dangerous, and you should only compare yourself to yourself and to the God who loves you unconditionally.  Since we are all different and we are not the source of truth, beauty or success, how then can you provide an accurate comparison of yourself to others or what is ultimately “best”?  What you can do is look at where you were in comparison to now and determine your level of progress.  If your progress is “good” for you, you can assume that you are moving in the right direction.  If your progress is unsatisfactory to you, the question becomes “what are you going to do about it”?  The answer to that question should NEVER be “NOTHING”! Get up and see, then chart your course with dogged determination to go in the direction you believe you should go.

3.    The future – to see where you want to go and who you want to become and to be inspired by it!  If you have a life you have a future.  I like to say, “If I’m not dead, I’m not done.”  Other people do not determine your future.  Your future is, however, decided by you.  If you are inspired to leave your past behind and make a new life each day for yourself, that power is available to you.  Anyone who believes the contrary should just look around them and observe those who have a different attitude, have built a plan and are executing on that plan day after day after day.  Even if that plan only includes moving one inch at a time, the law of compounding will take effect, and the gap between who you are and who you want to become will continue to close.  That doesn’t mean that all your dreams will come true, but it also doesn’t mean that a broken dream stops you from moving forward.

The late, great Vince Lombardi often commented about his beloved Green Bay Packers by stating “We will strive for perfection to achieve excellence.”  And so, it will also hopefully be the same for you.  Progress.  Not a finished work.  Simply Progress.