A Thousand Forests From One Acorn

Progress. Isn't that what we all strive for at the end of the day? To get better at that one skill, to do better at work, to do better at school, to make better decisions. Isn't that what life is about? To grow into a better version of yourself.

But who can really be the judge of your progress? Sure your boss can praise you or your teacher can give you a better grade, but personal development doesn't work that way. No one else can dictate your goals, and no one else is going to pat you on the back for reaching them. You must motivate yourself.

I have found that running away, avoidance, isn't the path to growth. It's when you are able to face the temptation and turn it down that you know you've done something right. That's my way of tracking my own progress, and I must say, I'm pleased with the results. I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but the right decisions are usually the toughest. Without struggle, there is no progress.

It's never too late to be who you might have been.

Not much has changed, yet things suddenly seem so much different now. I'm unable to comprehend how the wrongs ever seemed so right or how the ease was ever so difficult.

Perhaps, we just see what we want to see, whether it's people or situations. When you're upset with someone, it's beyond easy to focus on their negative qualities and neglect the positives. Or when considering getting back with an ex, all you can remember are the laughter and butterflies. If and when you get back together, you usually remember why it didn't work out the first time.

How does someone seem no less than perfect one instant and completely lose all of their appeal the next? Perhaps because we do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.

I guess we're all just living in our own illusion of reality, our own distorted versions of life.