From Old French progres (“a going forward”), from Latin prōgressus (“an advance”), from the participle stem of prōgredī (“to go forward, advance, develop”), from pro- (“forth, before”) + gradi (“to walk, go”).

I find myself stuck in the meaning of this word.
On one end, I know what it means.
But on the other, the meaning stops me.

How so?

I have no idea…
Perhaps it’s not the meaning…
But just the thought that goes with it?

Do tell…

I often find myself wondering what I could do to improve my skillset.
And sure, there are many ways in which I can do so.
But somehow, whenever I want to start on something, the motivation fails to follow through with it.
Like I’m not supposed to improve on what I do for a living.

Almost every day, ideas pop up in my head.
Things I could create, things I could experiment with.
And sure, some of those things actually make it through…
But it has been a while since I went all out and made something so good.
That I was proud of myself, proud about the fact that I learned something new.
Proud about the fact that I have gained another part of knowledge that I could use later on.

Then what’s wrong with your idea of progress?

Is it still called progress, when you can not accept the rate in which you go forth?
Is it still an improvement, when you’re not sure if you will ever use the knowledge again?
Is it still wisdom, if the opportunity to share it fails to show itself?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Yeah… Something like that…

It’s a matter of opinion, mostly.
And since you already know that, why would you even bother on going there with the subject?

Because I, for some, would like to know if the tree does make a sound!
The curious little guy inside me, that’s always looking for answers, wants to know how loud that sound could be.
Eventually, it’s no longer a matter of if it makes a sound, but more a what kind of a sound it would make.
And sure, not everyone would understand it… And it’s not even important IF people would WANT to understand it.
As long as I can feel like I got a solid answer, it’s fine by me.

But to get back on the subject of progress.
Don’t you think that any kind of progress, in any form there is.
No matter how slow it goes.
Can go by the meaning of progress?

I suppose it could.

For what it’s worth…
Progress is a word with a very large view of possibilities.
A snail that would crawl in reverse on a turtle, would still progress even it would be moving backwards.
As long as the snail goes to where he wants to go, it still counts as progress.
The same goes for you and your personal development skills.
You learn by trying stuff and keeping a portfolio to show to others AND yourself, the things you’ve learned.
By doing so, even when you think that you’re falling behind on the view you had.
You always have something to hold your back and help you keep looking forward.
To help you keep moving towards the next big thing you wish to work on.

Right… So no more falling behind!
It’s time for me to move forward!
Time for me to start on the next big thing!
Time for me to create… what…?

You really are something to talk to…