Today a client cancelled, so I had a few unexpected minutes, and for once I lay down on my own therapy couch. People do not really do that anymore, lie still with their own thoughts and no screen to escape into. Today I did. I figured I would take a quick nap.
Instead, my mind kept reminding me there is work to do. So I reflected on my wins and my losses over the past couple of weeks, and I gave myself a quiet pep talk about what I need to be doing next. And here is what surprised me. I felt peace in the effort itself, not in having arrived anywhere.
Honor the Man Who Shows Up Today
I am not where I want to be. Not even close. But I am honestly happy with my progress, because I know I am trying. Even though half the time I have no real idea what I am doing at this thing called life, I am trying, and that counts for far more than we give it credit for. We spend so much energy projecting the polished, finished version of ourselves that we forget to honor the man who is simply showing up and putting in his reps today. Progress over perfection is not a cute slogan. It is the only way anyone has ever actually changed.
An Honest Word to Anyone I've Failed
So let me say this plainly, the same way I would say it to my own reflection on that couch. If I have wronged you in any way, I apologize, as if you were standing right in front of me. If I have not reached out the way I should have, or validated you the way you needed, I am sorry. If I have been unkind in any form, know that it was never my intent, and I am working to be a better man every single day.
That is the whole point of this work, and it is not glamorous. You take an honest inventory, you own your part out loud, and you get back up and keep going. I am doing my work, on the couch and off it. Now go do yours.