Progress You Can't Yet See

Today is the day, you say. Today is the day you are going to start a new exercise program and work up to the six-pack abs or rock hard glutes. For the first few days, things are going well. Abs are crunching or glutes are tightening and you're focused on your goal. After a few days, you check the mirror and notice no changes. Abs still flabby, glutes still sagging. You power through a few more days and check again. No progress. The ugly voice of discouragement starts to creep its way in. Perhaps you aren't working hard enough. Perhaps the muscles will never appear. You wonder why you're spending all of this time and effort on this seemingly futile pursuit.

The difference between success and failure at this very moment is your ability to see the progress you can't yet see. Below the surface, changes are happening. Deep in your muscles, they are beginning to respond. They are accepting and understanding the environment is changing and they have to begun to grow and develop and adapt to the world. How, you ask, do we know this? If you are skeptical, we can look at one example in nature to prove our point.

This year in Maryland, we experienced an unprecedented amount of snow. Nearly four feet when all added up. Over a month went by where I was unable to access my backyard. As the season began to change and the snow melted away, I took an opportunity this morning to walk outside and survey the damage . Upon walking around the corner of the house, I found this lovely surprise.

I had forgotten about planting the garlic bulbs months earlier when the warm sun of early fall still fell upon the earth. So after all of the snow and all of the appearance of no progress, here were these lovely little shoots of garlic leaves pressing their way toward the sky.

The moral of this story? Even if you can't see progress each and every day, know that spring will come, things will happen and take comfort in the progress you can't yet see.