Sometimes it’s hard to really appreciate how far you’ve come when you’re looking at your situation up close. However, when you take a couple of steps back, it’s a lot easier to appreciate just how much progress you’ve made. I think it’s important to celebrate this progress because, ultimately, progress is what we all strive to have when we’re trying to get better at something. Keeping our hunger to achieve more can be bolstered by looking at how far we’ve come already.

Often, I find that when I’m working with clients who are seemingly hitting a wall with their progress, it’s easy for them to get frustrated in the moment because the next leap forward seems so elusive. You can lose motivation when this happens because you feel like you’re not making progress. Sometimes, taking a step back and looking at true progress over the course of not just a day or weekend but several events or even an entire season can really help bolster your confidence. Looking at the big picture can give you the drive and the patience to continue pushing to reach the next step.

The reason why I say patience is because a lot of very driven people aren’t very patient. Often, when we run out of patience, that results in frustration. It’s important not to get frustrated, because that gets in the way of achieving the mental clarity needed to reach that next step. Sometimes, it’s important to slow down your thought process and internal timeline in order to get faster on the track.

Ultimately, we know having the right mindset is key number one in sports psychology. And no matter how much of a professional anyone is, this is a critical component to their success on the track, on the field, or in any discipline.

When you’re really trying to identify what your next goal is or when you’ve hit a stumbling block trying to achieve it, it’s important to realize that you’ve already had a lot of success to get to that point. Celebrate that success, and it will give you the mental courage and focus to keep pushing toward your next milestone.