The Slow Pace of Change in a Fast-Paced World
I’ve thought often about these two concepts this year:
Change is slow and not linear.
Our culture values arrival and instant gratification.
As I’ve settled into my new life on Guam, familiar feelings from past moves have resurfaced. I’ve wanted to rush through the transition process and escape the uncomfortable unknown. I’ve found myself envying others who seem more established or settled into their lives here.
I’ve noticed this eagerness in restarting my coaching business too. I want to have more clients and feel successful quickly. In conversations, I become focused on finding an opportunity to mention coaching and forget to be present and truly listen to the other person.
As a coach, I fear that you might see me as someone who has it all together and is ready to tell you how to quickly transform your life. Though we see and easily envy people who appear to have instant success stories, they don’t align with the reality of our journeys- which involve ups and downs, forward and backward steps.
One of my favorite pastors and teachers, John Mark Comer, says to look at beginning new habits like this: “Start with where you are, not where you want to be.”
Embracing the slow nature of growth and having compassion toward yourself, I hope to encourage you to simply start with where you are. And by taking one day at a time, you and I can make meaningful progress, even if it's not always linear.
