Have you ever been stuck in a rut, feeling like nothing is moving forward, no matter how hard you try? If so, take heart. You may be missing the signs that show you are progressing in your life, from small steps to giant leaps. It is essential to recognize them and celebrate your accomplishments. Knowing that you are heading in the right direction can provide motivation and enthusiasm for the challenging journey ahead.

Are you moving forward in your life?

Progress means making advancements in life to get you closer to your goals. Sometimes, seeing if you are progressing in your life can be challenging. It can be because you keep doing the same things daily and are getting monotonous, such as doing your work and fulfilling your daily responsibilities. One may also associate real progress with the results that happen after achieving big and long-term goals, but since you may not be at that point yet in your life, you think you are not making any true progress. We may also compare ourselves with what others achieve and have and feel we are currently lacking and are not making real progress.

Progress doesn't always have to be big. If you achieve something, no matter how small, that is still progress. Sometimes, we have to notice some subtle signs of progress. By seeing these things, we can get more motivated to keep working and move closer to our bigger goals and dreams.

1. You feel optimistic about the future

Optimism is an excellent example of a subtle sign of progress. If you are often looking forward to the future, it means you haven't lost hope and are most likely continuing to work on your goals to achieve them someday. You know there is value in what you are working on, and the outcome you can get eventually will significantly benefit you. You also think that not all changes that may happen to you will be negative. Continuing to be optimistic about the future means that you can always make improvements in the present, and it's always worth trying to make things work.

2. You are checking off things on your to-do list

If you are a goal- and growth-oriented person, chances are you are keeping a to-do list of everything you want to achieve, whether short- or long-term. One sign that you are making progress is if things are getting checked on your list and done individually, no matter how slow they may be. All the tasks you accomplish, even if small, contribute to your larger goals. Once you accumulate many of these accomplishments, you will eventually cover most of what you need to do to accomplish something until you hit your target. So if you are looking to track progress in your life, look at your to-do list and see how many you have finished.

3. You know what you want

Not all of us know ourselves fully well. As a result, some of us may try doing various things or buying different things hoping to find something that will stick and catch our interest. We may keep looking at what others do and have and see if we can experience the same fulfillment and happiness as them. Nothing is wrong with trying new things, as they can broaden our perspectives and help us grow. However, we may lose our sense of direction and feel like we are not making progress if we keep starting new things and dropping them off later when we lose interest because we don't know yet what we truly want. That's why it is essential to have some time to figure out who you are, as this is one sign of progress. By knowing yourself well, you can better focus on what matters to you and what you should pursue, giving you a reason not to compare and look at others' lives that much because you already know what you want.

4. You are gaining people's attention

Look around you, and you may see progress through how people look at and notice you. When you put more effort and time into working on something, you will accomplish things, and people can see this, especially in the workplace. Your boss may start noticing you and give you more leadership tasks or project management responsibilities. If you are a content creator, you may start seeing the number of your followers rise, which indicates that you are getting noticed. People may approach you for help since they think you are good at your work. You will only experience such things if you put yourself out there and progress in whatever you do.

5. You can buy what you want and have more money in your savings

Money is not always an indicator of progress, but it can be a good sign that you are progressing in your career. Getting a pay raise, a job promotion, or switching to a more rewarding job and career are all signs of progression. Having more money means more opportunities to cover everything we want and need and also allows for more savings if we are smart with our money. Also, it's possible that you may not be getting a pay increase with your current job, but if you become wiser and more conscious of your spending, you can end up having more savings that you can use for emergencies and other purposes. Seeing growth in your wealth and looking at all the possessions you have bought so far are still good indicators of progress, and you can look at them whenever you feel you are currently lacking.

6. You generally feel happy and good

How you typically think about life indicates if you are progressing well. Life has ups and downs; success doesn't always happen, and you may commit mistakes. If, despite the problems and challenges in your life, you can still feel happy and smile, it shows that you are still making progress in life. You are not giving up on your hardships; deep inside, you believe that things can change and you can do something to improve yourself. The future is not all doom and gloom, and as long as you keep getting things done, things will turn in the right direction someday. You realize that opportunities can be everywhere, and you feel excited to wake up every day, knowing there is something you can do to improve your life.

7. You are not held back by the past

Some of us get stuck in the past despite being in the present. We may keep thinking about past mistakes, experience fears over something traumatic, not want to try something because of a similar past failure, or be filled with regrets and anger. It's not easy to move on from something we experienced in the past, as it takes time for wounds to heal and for us to try moving forward again. However, we should do our best to overcome our past troubles to grow and move forward. We may not completely forget such things, but if we become willing to start working again, it's a sign of triumph and progress that we are not shackled anymore by our previous grievances.

Progress is good

To achieve success, it is essential to progress in whatever needs to be done to get what we want. However, we may sometimes feel that we are not making progress since results may not quickly come, or they feel too insignificant for the time being. Progress is still progress, though, no matter how small they are. Once all these signs of little progress accumulate, we can hit our real targets, and it is only after accomplishing the initial steps we can get to the next steps needed for success. Take note of all your improvements and advancements, as they will motivate you to continue until you achieve your goals.