If you are a highly goal-driven person, you may have observed this: you are always hard on yourself whenever you slip and fall short of your targets. You would be sad, overthink all your missteps; ask yourself why you had not pushed harder; bemoan your mistakes; lament all the time you wasted on unnecessary activities, and just get angry with everything about your life. Your previous accomplishments make no sense at this point.

During these moments, the risk of throwing away the baby with bad water is high. And if you are not careful, you will waste more time in self-beating than in moving forward, thus creating a vicious circle.

While it’s good to always know the reasons why I couldn’t hit the target and see ways to work on them, one thing I always do is constantly remind myself that I’m actually closer to my goal now than before, irrespective of the delays and mishaps.

I am closer to my dreams today than I was yesterday
I’m closer to my target this week than I was last week
I am closer to my goals this month than I was last month
I’m closer to fulfilling my vision this year than I was last year.

With the above in mind, quitting is never an option. I’ll keep paddling this canoe until I reach the shore. After all, I am closer to the shore now than when I set out on this journey.

You may not know it, but you are making progress. Just keep going, laying one brick on another, one stroke at a time.