Let’s talk about progress, and how we approach it.

The other day in my yoga class, the instructor started to lead us into a pose I had never done before (and couldn’t imagine pulling off). It’s called Half Moon, or Ardha Chandrasana, and my immediate first thought was, “oh I can’t do that. I’ll sit this out.”

But somehow, another voice said back to the first one –

“Well, just try.”

So I took a deep breath, leaned forward, lifted my back leg, tipped over, and felt myself balance in an inverted one legged pose for the first time EVER.

The instant gratification was visceral. There I was, tipped over, smiling from ear to ear. For the rest of the day (ahem, week) I glowed with the joy that I was able to do something totally new. A small and maybe very simple thing, but it was progress. I had improved, I was getting stronger, gaining ground.

Should I put “professional yogi” on my Insta bio??

If you need a wakeup call, here it is: Your accomplishments don’t need to be weighed and measured to be rewarded.

Too often, we measure our progress milestone by milestone. We applaud only our major accomplishments, the ones we work tirelessly toward. We forget that every little step along the way matters.

As a fellow entrepreneur, I understand the importance of holding yourself to a high standard and keeping your goals in line. And I want you to celebrate the work you do and the progress you make, no matter what it looks like.

There’s no need to be stingy with yourself – let the self-love pour forth. Each check-marked box on a to-do list is a gold medal as far as I’m concerned. 

And with every inch of progress we make – each thing we do that we once thought we couldn’t – we push our inner critic further and further away.