It is without a doubt, that we’ve experienced progress at a speed that has been unprecedented in our history. Coupled alongside such rapid progress, is the dizzying speed at which the world and our lives revolve around in it.
Cutting edge technology unveiled one day and then obsolete in six months’ time. There are more demands put on our time; our energy and our lives which we tend at times bend and buckle under, then there ever has been.
All along with that, a sector(s) within the whole self-help industry and mental-wellness fields have developed to help lead us back to a quieter and more simple existence(which is a good thing), while all around us the world spins much like an F-5 tornado.
We’ve become used to and often demand that things happen immediately. We no longer wait or like to wait for anything it seems regardless of its worthiness or lack of. Convenience now is often the “word of the day.” Our vehicles have become rolling restaurants, so we can eat our breakfast sandwich and drink our coffee while spending off to work each morning.
Fast, convenient and on MY SCHEDULE and FITTING MY LIFESTYLE pretty much sums up how we tend to live our lives in this day and age.
Whatever it is, we want it NOW; want it FAST; want it MY WAY.
But, on the other hand, life has a funny way of interjecting in our life situation(s) that just don’t fit very well into a lifestyle we’ve created that accelerates to 120 kilometres per hour by 6:45am every morning.
There will be situations we find ourselves in that move or come to a conclusion that appears to move slower than the retreating ice-age.
For example:
- dealing with a mental-wellness issue in which we think we’re not making any progress in;(but we actually are)
- our doctor has told us we have a certain medical condition that is entirely treatable and curable, but it will take a long(ish) time to deal with(honestly, you feel better than eight months ago)
- the new business you started isn’t as big and successful as you thought it might be by this point(but you’re making money)
- the part-time studies you’re in to enter the field which has been your passion in life is taking forever to complete(each course makes you one course closer to graduation and your dream)
And the list goes on.
Unlike our seemingly 120 kilometres per hour, daily life from morning to night, those above examples are more of the “5 kilometres per hour crawling along trip” and often frustrating situations we may find ourselves in at some point during our life.
But, if you go back and re-read the four bullet points, is progress not happening in each one of them?
Is slow progress, not progress, nonetheless?
Of course, it is.
The problem often lies in this:
Fast, convenient and on MY SCHEDULE and FITTING MY LIFESTYLE pretty much sums up how we tend to live our lives in this day and age.
Whatever it is, we want it NOW; want it FAST; want it MY WAY.
Five Reasons Why Slow Progress Is Still Progress
Slow does not mean failure
If you drive in your car at 100 kilometres per hour, in one hour, you will travel 100 kilometres(more or less).
On the other hand, the average person’s walking speed is around 4 to 5 kilometres per hour.
For this example, when walking at 4 kilometres per hour it will take you 25 hours(more or less) to go the 100 kilometres, that the car did in one hour.
Regardless of how one looks at this, whether walking or driving you both ended up at the same point.
Slow progress does not mean failure.
A little effort over time is better than no effort at all.
We’ve all been in or know of situations, that although completed very suddenly and quickly, in the end, gave rise to issues that might have been foreseen and dealt with if the process had been taken at a much slower pace.
Dealing with mental-wellness issues for many people can be a long and often difficult process. At times it seems like there is no progress being made at all. Today seems no better than yesterday. That might be true. But, this week might be better than last week and this year might be better than two years ago.
In the midst of a battle, it is often hard to tell if you’re winning the war. You are.
Slow progress is still progress.
It all adds up over time
“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Proverb
I don’t know who uttered that phrase, but it does carry a lot of wisdom in it.
But what does matter is that all those small steps which you think are getting you nowhere or you feel are causing you to move at such a slow pace are actually adding up.
Every victory, no matter if they happen to be big or small, it all adds up in the end.
Each small step along the way adds experience, wisdom and knowledge to the situation you find yourself in.
From personal experience, I know that dealing with mental-wellness and anxiety issues, there are no quick fixes. Each new skill learned and applied is but one small step along the path to wellness. If something or someone rushes towards you with a seemingly quick fix or what appears like a “great leap forward”, remember a “great leap forward” often precedes “a stumble backwards.”
The goal is to get to the end; the place you want to be. Every step; every small victory will eventually get you there. It all adds up over time.
Slow progress is still progress.
New things
It goes without saying, when hurdling along through life at something just under lightspeed, it is tough to learn or pick up new skills or adapt to new or suddenly occurring situations. There is little opportunity to stop and try a new approach.
When life seems to be spinning madly around us, often the best we can hope for and accomplish is to simply hang on for another day and wait until tomorrow for it to happen all over again.
Using the mental-wellness example and knowing that progress can be slow and take some time, there is ample opportunity to incorporate new techniques and coping strategies into your wellness routine and program.
At each step along the way, each new technique learned is a tool that can be added into your toolbox of skills that can be used in a variety of situations as they develop and come into your life.
Adding new skills and learning new techniques and approaches always create a stronger and more resilient you in the end. And it is the end place we’re striving towards regardless of how long it takes to get there.
Slow progress is still progress.
Makes you resilient
Slow progress is slow progress for sure and often depending on the situation, we all wish and desire that the progress we’re making might just speed up a bit.
We all get that feeling from time to time.
But slow progress no matter how slow or small in nature builds resiliency in us.
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines resiliency this way:
- able to be happy, successful, etc. again after something difficult or bad has happened; and
- able to quickly return to its usual shape after being bent, stretched, or pressed
Slow progress allows us to learn and develop new skills that build strength within us and the skills necessary to deal with life in a much more positive and healthy way so that we CAN bounce back after experiencing challenges, which we know will happen.
Progress and success that are often the result of “overnight success” can be fraught within many issues and concerns and one of them is lack of resilience.
Resilience takes time to nurture and develop. Those who haven’t taken the time or been given the time and opportunity to develop the skills of resilience can get easily overwhelmed. Because they lack the skills to handle adversity has it come, they may turn to utilize unhealthily coping mechanisms in order to get through the situation.
Resiliency or our ability to bounce back, often better than before is a by-product of slow progress.
Perhaps Tigger says it best.
Slow progress is still progress.
Never give up
Our goal is to get to the end. That place we want to finally be.
It might be finishing those part-time course studies; dealing with that on-going medical issue or getting a better handle on and developing new skills to deal with our own mental-wellness concerns.
Along the way we’ve had the opportunity to learn that slow progress is not failure; it all adds up over time; we had the ability and opportunity to learn new skills; and that we’ve become more resilient
But, through all of this though, we’ve learned the skill of “never giving up.”
One small step; one tiny win; one small victory gets us closer than we were before.
Regardless of what the world may say or do and regardless if society looks upon slow progress as something less than desirable, remember that slow progress is still progress.
The skills and lessons you will learn along the journey far outweigh and look far better than the swirling chaos that likely surrounds you.
Slow progress is still progress.
— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —
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