I worked with an owner of a small business who was constantly frustrated over an ongoing issue with his employees. No matter how many times he explained how to fill out the time cards correctly, his crew would come up with incomplete information. 

He felt like his words were falling on deaf ears. He tried many strategies to correct this problem, and he was beginning to think it was never going to get resolved. 

In reality, there was progress being made. It was small progress, almost invisible to the naked eye. But as a coach observing from the outside, I saw it. 

I pointed out the progress, but the owner felt it was too little, too late. He could only focus on what wasn’t working. It blinded him from the improvements being made each week.

And this is what I see entrepreneurs doing to themselves darn near every day. They judge their progress, and most of the time it feels like they “should” be further ahead; they’re not seeing the progress that happens daily.

We’re definitely hard on ourselves. We have a tendency, as humans, to compare our lives to where we think we should be, constantly making ourselves wrong for where we are. 

Are you hard on yourself? If so, keep reading because I’m going to share a way to break the habit.

This is where a daily gratitude journal or an evidence log* comes in handy. When you can put some attention on things that are going well and remind yourself that there is progress being made… it’s got a positive compounding effect on your success.

The more good stuff you notice, the more good stuff that presents itself.

If today you stayed focused on what was truly important to you for five minutes longer than you did yesterday, I would call that progress! Small but powerful progress. 

Try a quick exercise with me. Pick an area of your business that you feel like you’re running in place on your way to success. 

Take just one minute to tap into the feeling of frustration of not moving forward on this issue. 

Ask yourself…

What does it mean about me that I’m not successful with it yet?

What am I convinced is my fate on this topic? 

Will I get there someday or am I unsure I’ll ever resolve this?

Now, imagine you’re on the other side of the mountain with this topic. You’ve accomplished what you really wanted. You feel great about how you’ve changed the situation. 

As you imagine looking back to this present moment, can you see your small movements forward? 

What are you doing currently with this issue that serves you? 

What are your values and strengths that you can use to be more effective in moving forward with ease? 

What can you appreciate about your current circumstances? 

What evidence do you have in your life that you can powerfully move through this with flying colors?

How did it feel to focus on your strengths and look for evidence of progress? 

As a coach, it’s one of the skills I use often. A client will feel like some areas of their life are smokin’ hot (in a good way), and then they have that one issue that is their pain in the neck. That issue that they keep bringing up at least once a month or more. 

They feel like they’re a broken record talking about the same thing over and over. I point out all the evidence of their improvement. They take it in with a smile or they shrug it off, discounting their progress.

People! Never discount your progress. If like attracts like, then you’ll be attracting more icky feelings about yourself. It’ll actually slow down the progress. 

Don’t feel bad about feeling bad. Don’t apologize for how you are being or where you are in life. This is like waving a big flag that says: I’m NOT worthy. I’m a loser! 

And that’s not cool! 

Get off your own back. Stop being mean to yourself. 

You’re doing better than you think! Focus on the progress you are making and you’ll attract more progress. It’s a given.

Who do you want to be known as? Someone who thinks they can or someone who thinks they can’t? 

(My husband always asks my kids, “Are you an AmeriCAN or an AmeriCAN’T?” 🤣)

Do you want to feel good about who you are, or do you want to give yourself verbal beatings? 

I think the choice is obvious. So get off the “woe is me” stuff and start patting yourself on the back. 

Thank you! Doesn’t that feel better?

*Both of these are included in my Speed Dial the Universe journal.