Sometimes it’s necessary to look back.

A lot of my work focuses on getting better, becoming your best self and unleashing your greatest potential. I truly believe this is the secret to a great life.

However, it is so important to look back on how far you have come. It’s important to be grateful for everything in your life and proud of the things you have accomplished along the way.

In their book, The Gap and the Gain, Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy talk about the importance of “measuring backwards”. They believe that the happiest people are the ones who are able to look back over a period of time and see how much progress they have made. They compare their current self to their past self, rather than comparing their current self to some future idealistic self. This allows them to focus on how much progress they have made, rather than starting every day playing a zero sum game.

Look back at how far you’ve come.

Be grateful for who you are and where you are at in your journey.

You are enough. But never stop growing.

This “ideal” vision that you have of yourself is like running towards the horizon. You’ll never reach the horizon, no matter how far or how fast you run. But if you stop, look around, even look back at times, and appreciate how far you’ve come on your journey, you will have peace, fulfillment and happiness. You can keep growing. You can still strive for greatness. You can keep moving forward. But it is also so important recognize how far you’ve come.

Think back to 1, 5 and 10 years ago and where you were at in life. Look at how far you’ve come. That person would be so proud of the person you currently are. They would applaud you and smile. They would recognize that you are imperfect and made mistakes. We all do. But they would be so proud of your courage to keep moving forward.

It’s okay to look forward and dream big. I encourage it. I have huge goals.

But every once in a while, stop and look back at how far you’ve come and be proud of the growth you’ve experienced. This is the key to fulfillment and happiness.