You’ve come a long way.

This is true regardless of who you are or where you are in your life. Think about the things you’ve overcome, what you’ve learned, how you’ve changed. Even the experiences you had yesterday have added to Who you are.

Too often people compare themselves to others or where they think they ought to be. This leads to self-doubts, self-criticism, and frustration that they’re not further along.

What happens if you stop for a moment and really look at how far you’ve come and let yourself appreciate where you are right now? How different does that feel? How much more empowering is that new feeling?

That feeling is the difference between negative catabolic energy that holds you back and positive anabolic energy that enables you to move towards achieving your goals.

Comparing yourself to you versus someone else or where you think you should be gives you a much more accurate progress assessment.

For instance, if you’re dieting, what you learned yesterday helps you know more about how your body responds to food, what thoughts and emotions may trip you up, and what helps you succeed.

And where you are today will be a measurement to assess your progress tomorrow, or a week, month, year or lifetime from now.

Even if you are 20 pounds (or more) heavier than you want and you feel like you’ve lost ground, you haven’t. You’ve gathered information that will help you move forward towards your goals and Who you want to be. That time and experience was not lost or wasted. Even if all you have is a clearer picture of what you don’t want, that is valuable. Sometimes you have to know that before you can figure out how to move towards what you do want.

You’ve come a long way. You are more than you were yesterday. You have new information upon which to base new decisions, generate new ideas, and create new experiences.

Look for ways to appreciate where you are and how far you’ve come, and then reach for the new place you want to be.

Together we can do it!