Progress is made by showing up every day
Progress isn't made in leaps and bounds like I used to think. It's made by showing up every single day and putting in the work.
Progress is something to fight for. It's made despite all the slowdowns and despite all the barriers that stand in the way. It's made in fits and starts and it's hard.
That's what makes it so rewarding---because very few people stick with it. It's always easier to just 'go home'. It's easier to sit on your couch and watch Netflix, or play video games. It's easier to put down the weights in the gym when you're tired, to stop running because you'd rather walk, to stop learning something new and stick to what you know--all these things are what most people do. That's what makes them most people. Our brains often betray us and walk us down the path of least resistance.
You have to ask yourself this question: Do you want to be like most people, or do you want to be you, 100%, unfiltered?
Do you want to keep showing up, keep making progress, and discover uncharted territory?
I remember when I would learn about explorers in middle and high school-- people who set out and discovered new lands and new waters and literally mapped the Earth. I recently felt sad thinking that with today's technology, there's no part of the Earth that some human or machine hasn't discovered. I felt there were no adventures left to have as a result. I was wrong though, because I was thinking only of geographically discovering things. I wasn't thinking about our own personal journeys-- as individual people, and as a collective group of humanity. People continue to do new and 'uncharted' things all the time, and some are lucky enough to push humanity forward as a result. They don't do it overnight, like popular culture might have us believe--they do it through determination and working harder than everyone else. They do it by making progress towards what they believe in every single day.
Set your destination, grab your tools, and get moving. The world is waiting to see what you do next.