Progress for the Best

How many times do you ask yourself “What have I actually accomplished today”?

Since college has begun, I have found this to be a reoccurring question that, at first, I have had no answer to or anything to show for what I have managed to tackle on my way-to-long of a To-Do list. I’m sure that many of us could say the same thing, whether we be in school or out, we seem to have so much going on at once. But what good does it do us if we do not feel like we have actually got something done?

A major theme among my officer team this year so far has been a quote from past national president David Townsend: “Action without reflection is meaningless.” There’s just something about these words that resonated within us and almost shook us to our core. Throughout our summer of training, we focused on great actions that would help progress ourselves, our members, and our organization, while also reflecting on the good wehad accomplished. However, I believe there was one crucial element missing in our process of achieving our goals: we did not understand the true meaning of progress and how it may be measured.

Trying to define and evaluate progress is difficult because everyone defines it differently and perceives progress in their own ways. The definition that has helped me comes from the Matthew Kelly book, Perfectly Yourself.Mr. Kelly states that “progress is simply change that is positive.” This resounding definition allowed me to reevaluate everything we had accomplished and helped me realize if we had actually made a positive change with our actions, or did we just go through the motions?

Personally, I found that we had made significant progress over the summer months of June thru August, but I question on where to go from here. With college in full swing, officer responsibilities picking up, and personal well-being all being priorities, I ask where is there room for progress? Mr. Kelly also addresses evaluating progress in his book, and he declares that progress is measured differently for everyone. With everything going on, I have found that for me progress is simply making my bed in the morning. It’s a positive change to the state of my dorm room that allows me to feel as if I have already accomplished something for the day. For others, it may be achieving larger, more complex items on your To-Do list. Whatever it is you see needs progress, and however you choose to measure it, keep in mind that your progress is not like everyone else’s.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ~Dr.Suess

Now is YOUR time! Make great progress, achieve your goals, and appreciate all the good you have in your life, because you only get one.

Living to Serve,

Scuyler Zenger