PAIN IN PROGRESS

I’m weeks away from releasing yoU Magazine’s 2nd annual Fall Issue. Did someone say SECOND ANNUAL? Can you believe it? I hardly can. As I’m putting together the final touches, making sure it’s perfect for all of you – I’m just finishing up my Letter From the Editor. I promised I would write a blog about the PAIN IN PROGRESS. I included some thoughts in the next issue of yoU Mag about this topic.

You may be wondering what exactly “pain in progress” means. Here’s the thing: when you set your sights on reaching a goal (whatever it may be) …fitness, health, launching a new business – most people see the END RESULT. You may get comments like “you’re so lucky!” or “you’re naturally talented.” Sure, some people are just born with IT – but guess what? Not everyone is. Or maybe they are and just have to tap into it to help their natural talents flourish. Either way, no one is born out of the womb a so-called superstar right? So from the outside looking in, everything in my life may sound grand and fabulous, it may appear as though everything is picture perfect but I have to honestly admit just how HUMAN this experience (building a business) has been. I want you to know there is PAIN IN PROGRESS. If you can’t come face to face with the challenges along your journey, whatever they may be, if you aren’t willing to get uncomfortable, to push through your anxiousness and heart palpitations as a result of the unknown then you belong exactly where you are…in your comfort zone.

So when I say there is pain in progress – I’m not necessarily talking about physical aches (although depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, you may endure some physical pain), I’m talking about emotional stretching. The kind of emotional and mental growth you want to run away from because it’s just easier. I personally think the pain of regret far outweighs the pain in progress, but that’s just an opinion. I don’t know what it’s like to truly feel massive regret and I don’t want to find out. I will just take peoples’ word for it. REGRET SUCKS. Therefore I will take the pain in progress any day.

What progress am I talking about here exactly? The pain in progress it took to get ME exactly where I am today. And trust me, I haven’t arrived at my destination. I don’t know if we ever really do, maybe it’s the joy in the journey that we’re really all after. Either way, I didn’t wake up here in this moment. It took a lot to become who I am today and it will take a lot more growth (the painful mental stretching argh!) to become the person I envision being someday. Sometimes we need memories to remind us just how far we’ve come. My Mom sent me some silly videos the other night, and while they used to embarrass me now I can appreciate what they truly represent. They represent the start of my journey.

Here’s a clip of me when I was an INTERN, “training” to become a broadcaster. I had no idea what I was doing – I just practiced until years and years later I developed into a professional broadcaster. Do you even recognize this girl? That was ME!!!! I wasn’t naturally GREAT. Listen to my voice, look at my posture and lack of confidence here! The only thing special about this girl in the video is that she’s TRYING. But man was it painful to progress. It was uncomfortable. I had to laugh at myself a lot. Most importantly I had to keep going until I accomplished the things I wanted to, until I became the broadcaster I am today (former now). It is the same philosophy I apply to growing my online women’s magazine. Man has it been tough, and wow have I faced some roadblocks – people who have wanted to stand in my way (yeah there are actually people in the world like that) but pushing through the challenges is actually what helps propel us into greatness.

So please remember to be easy on yourself – but be tough with yourself too. Behind the perfectly polished people you aspire to become are HUMANS who had to go through the pain to progress into who they are today. If you want to be extraordinary then you have to be willing to be better than you were yesterday. That means taking an honest look in the mirror and asking yourself WHY. Why am I not where I want to be in my life? The cold hard truth is staring right back at you. But be comforted in knowing that every person who ever accomplished greatness shared the same moment. The secret is to keep going.