Embrace the Process

I was reminded today that progress takes time. It's often very slow-going. It's a journey.

But sometimes I really wish it could just happen overnight. I know that's not how it works, but a girl can dream, right?

Anyway, part of my aim to love better this year is to love myself and show myself grace. That means that I have to be okay with making slow progress and even backsliding at times. It's a two-step-forward-one-step-back type of dance.

It can be really frustrating when all I want is to leave bad habits in the dust. I want to crush them, conquer them, be done with them, and forget they ever existed.

But that wouldn't teach me much. It certainly wouldn't foster compassion, patience, grace, understanding, perseverance, or hope. And those are the more important things, anyway, not kicking a bad habit or achieving a new goal. Those are the lessons that are hard-won, the experiences that truly refine character.

Learning new habits and training myself to reach new goals is going to be a lifelong process. I might as well get used to the fact that I'll always have goals to set, new things to challenge myself to accomplish. There's always room for growth. And with the growth is room, too, for grace.

We'll never be perfect. We will continually fall short. We can certainly grow, improve, strengthen, and make better decisions. We can become better versions of ourselves. But all along the way we should practice doing so gracefully.

By grace, we've been saved from the need to prove ourselves. By grace, we've been freed from having to earn our salvation and our worth. By grace, we've been given the opportunity to live life abundantly, without the pressure to do everything perfectly, and truly enjoy the journey.

By grace, we can let go of our pasts, our mistakes, and our baggage. We can move forward, even if our steps are small.

So today I'm choosing (through gritted teeth) to embrace the process, as slow as it might be. I'm going to take it one step at a time, even when some of those steps don't feel like they're leading me in the right direction. I'm going to trust that every small decision I make that supports my goals is important, even if some of them feel insignificant at times.

I'm going to persevere when I encounter setbacks and pray for strength when mine runs out. I'm going to refuse to bite off more than I can chew. I'm going to not aim to be perfect (because I know deep down that I never can be anyway), but just try to be one step ahead of where I was yesterday. Just one. Not twelve. Not seven. Not even two. Just one.

What's your one step for today? Do you have any secrets to embracing the process more easily?

Further reading:

8 Simple Strategies For When You’re Struggling to Declutter by Claire Wilde, Becoming Minimalist

Image source: http://www.the36thavenue.com/free-printables-2/