Progress isn’t Linear.

I talk with my hands. I wish you could see this nice little visual I can make for you, but I’ll try it out with words instead.

Progress is not linear. This means we will move through the world learning from lessons and repeating those same lessons, aka learning opportunities, until we can truly embody this new knowing. Then, once those lessons are learned, we’ll progress forward by learning and re-learning (occasionally, re-re-re-learning. Ask me how I know.) from each new experience as it unfolds with the flow of life.

This is simply the process of being human.

For instance: you may have, at one point in time, learned that it was “better” to swallow your voice/feelings. You may have learned that anticipating the moods of others kept you safe. You may have learned that shutting down or closing others out kept you from experiencing pain. Plug in whatever unique life lessons you’ve learned.

Then, as you grew, you learned those previously hard learned lessons are actually harmful or no longer serving you. So you step into your courage and decide to make changes.

Here, you’re allowing yourself to see what no longer serves you and so you begin your healing journey with learning, un-learning or re-learning.

Ready for the non-linear part?

Because you’re human you will misstep. You will repeat the same patterns of being and interacting. You will find yourself in the same muck. There is no better teacher than experience. So experience it, and keep experiencing it, until you’re ready to move beyond this lesson.

Each step you make, even when it is not linear, moves you closer to healing. Closer to the you you’d like to be. Healing is a journey and you are honing in, progressing, and moving closer each time you get back up and try again.

Loving reminder: your courageous self who was ready for this change will also benefit from connecting with your compassionate self who understands how hard it is to learn, un-learn and re-learn. I’m in your corner too.