Are We Addicted to Dramatic Progress
Finding Balance Between Ambition and Appreciation: Redefining What Progress Really Means
I may have a problem.
I love progress—and apparently, I prefer mine dramatic.
Give me the promotion, degree, transformation, the big "LOOK WHAT I DID" moment.
Little, steady progress?
My ADHD/perimenopausal brain: Cute. What's next? Wait…what did we accomplish?
Lately, I've wondered whether constantly chasing progress can become an internal addiction—not clinically, but emotionally. We get so used to achieving that maintaining what we've accomplished can somehow feel like standing still.
There's a workplace side, too. While we're thinking, "How can I grow?" our constant forward motion can unintentionally be perceived as competition—or even as a threat to coworkers. That doesn't mean we should shrink ourselves, but it has made me more intentional about how I pursue growth.
We celebrate losing the weight, but not maintaining it. The promotion, but not becoming exceptional where we already are. Graduation, but rarely the exhausted nights that got us there.
I'm still ambitious. That isn't changing. But I'm learning to slow down long enough to remember and recognize what I've accomplished before racing toward the next thing.
To sustain what I've built. Make room for others to shine. And enjoy where I am.
I don't need less ambition. I need a healthier relationship with it.
Progress isn't only what I change—it's what I sustain and who I help grow beside me.
KDS
