Look at how far you have come, and you are still progressing.

Dear girl, I know you tend to have tunnel vision when it comes to the future, your neck stiff from facing forward, plowing toward whatever keeps you up at night.

I know you give yourself a hard time, I see you setting expectations for yourself that come tumbling down like an avalanche of disappointment, a wave of “I’m not good enough,” a storm of lost hope. You think you have failed and your neck is stiff, your shoulders tense and you look an your mirror and your body has not changed but girl what about the stuff you cannot see?

What about your mind? What about your thoughts? Maybe you’ve tightened the collar around the words you throw at yourself like darts. Take time to look past your shoulder and see the daisies blooming in the wake of your heavy footsteps. That isn’t mud you are stepping on. This is fresh soil. With every step forward, don’t forget to look back. Look back before the imprint of your boots fade away. Look back before your progress is lost in the surge of new challenges.

Look at how far you have come, and you are still progressing.

Do not dismiss the small steps. Do not dismiss the times you took to take a breath, they are just as important as the times you put your foot down and ran as fast as you could. Pay attention to the small steps. Do not dismiss them. You are progressing. #deargirl