{"id":528,"date":"2016-12-21T19:22:18","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T19:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=528"},"modified":"2016-12-21T19:22:18","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T19:22:18","slug":"strive-progress-not-perfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/12\/strive-progress-not-perfection.html","title":{"rendered":"Strive for Progress, Not Perfection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pexels-photo-97099<\/a><\/p>\n

We all have aspects of our lives that we would like to improve. We may struggle with our weight.\u00a0 Or we may have a relationship that is fraught with conflict.\u00a0 Perhaps we have a job which doesn\u2019t suit our skills or aspirations.\u00a0 When working to improve these areas, it is easy to get discouraged if we can\u2019t fix these problems quickly.<\/p>\n

But some problems simply cannot be remedied overnight. That makes sense because they probably weren\u2019t created overnight.\u00a0 In fact, most big problems are the product of years of bad choices.\u00a0 For instance, health issues typically don\u2019t come up out of the blue.\u00a0 Rather, they tend to be the result of long-term bad habits, like poor eating choices, or abusing drugs or alcohol.<\/p>\n

Likewise, relationships don\u2019t reach a crisis point because of one small conflict. Instead, that crisis will arise after months or years of one (or both) parties behaving in a self-centered manner.\u00a0 So, since big issues aren\u2019t created overnight, we can\u2019t expect to resolve them overnight either.\u00a0 Instead, we have to look for progress as we move forward, rather than perfection.<\/p>\n

My health is one area in which I focus on progress. This year, I didn\u2019t lose the ten pounds that I would have liked to lose.\u00a0 But the good news is that I kicked my caffeine habit.\u00a0 I also have been getting daily exercise though ballroom dancing, which has improved my cardiovascular health, agility and posture.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t achieved perfection, but I keep making progress to be as healthy as possible.<\/p>\n

You would be shocked at the results that you can achieve from small, daily amounts of progress toward a goal. When I was trying to learn Spanish, nothing helped me as much as listening to Spanish instructional CDs in my car on my daily commute.\u00a0 Every morning, for the 40 minutes that I was driving, I practiced speaking Spanish.\u00a0 That habit laid the foundation for my eventual ability to speak the language.<\/p>\n

The same holds true for when we want to improve parts of our character. I am by nature an impatient person.\u00a0 I know that I am not going to change that aspect of my personality overnight.\u00a0 Instead, I approach the issue by dealing with individual situations.\u00a0 If I know that I am going to be at a family event at which I will be irritated, I commit to being as patient as possible for that one event.<\/em> My hope is that as I practice being patient in certain situations, I will develop the quality of patience.\u00a0 But for today, I simply look for progress in that area.<\/p>\n

This week, as you consider the areas of your life in which you would like to see change, don\u2019t obsess about achieving your final goal. Instead, think of the ways in which you can make a small amount of progress today.<\/em> If you do that every day, you will feel increasingly inspired to pursue your goals, and before you know it, you will have achieved them.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all have aspects of our lives that we would like to improve. We may struggle with our weight.\u00a0 Or we may have a relationship that is fraught with conflict.\u00a0 Perhaps we have a job which doesn\u2019t suit our skills or aspirations.\u00a0 When working to improve these areas, it is easy to get discouraged if…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-goals"],"yoast_head":"\nStrive for Progress, Not Perfection - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/12\/strive-progress-not-perfection.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strive for Progress, Not Perfection - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all have aspects of our lives that we would like to improve. We may struggle with our weight.\u00a0 Or we may have a relationship that is fraught with conflict.\u00a0 Perhaps we have a job which doesn\u2019t suit our skills or aspirations.\u00a0 When working to improve these areas, it is easy to get discouraged if…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/12\/strive-progress-not-perfection.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-21T19:22:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2016\/12\/pexels-photo-97099-hikers-A.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meerabelle Dey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Strive for Progress, Not Perfection - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/12\/strive-progress-not-perfection.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Strive for Progress, Not Perfection - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","og_description":"We all have aspects of our lives that we would like to improve. 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