It’s strange how we can be so hard on ourselves without even realizing it. We set a goal, we reach it, and before we even pause to take it in, we’re already looking at the next one. We push forward, raise the bar, keep moving, thinking that’s what growth is supposed to feel like. And it is — but it also means we rarely stop long enough to see how far we’ve actually come.
Someone once said, “Maybe you don’t notice your progress because you’re always raising your bar.” That line hit me like a quiet truth I didn’t know I needed to hear. Because it’s so easy to lose perspective when you’re living inside your own growth. From the outside, people might be in awe of how much you’ve changed or accomplished. But on the inside, you’re just trying to meet the next deadline, the next milestone, the next version of yourself.
There’s a kind of beauty in ambition, in wanting to grow and evolve. But there’s also a danger in letting your ambition blur your self-recognition. When you never take the time to honor how far you’ve come, you start to believe you’re not doing enough. You forget the nights you stayed up late learning, the mornings you dragged yourself out of bed, the risks you took, the fears you overcame.
Sometimes it takes someone outside of you to remind you of your own progress. It’s like seeing yourself in a photo from years ago and realizing how much you’ve changed — not just on the surface, but deep down. That’s why words like the ones above can heal a little; they pull you back to a perspective you’ve lost. They remind you to pause.
Maybe this is your sign to stop and breathe for a second. To look back at the mountain you’ve climbed instead of staring only at the next peak. Maybe it’s time to recognize that your constant raising of the bar isn’t a failure — it’s evidence of your growth. And just for today, maybe you can give yourself credit for all the quiet, uncelebrated wins along the way.
Because progress isn’t only about how far you still have to go. It’s also about how far you’ve already come. And if you can hold that truth, even for a moment, it might heal you a little too.
Kenrick Vaz 