Celebrate the Climb.
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Learning Zone — that uncomfortable but essential space between what we know and what we're still figuring out. It's in that space where growth happens, because we stretch beyond the familiar and come out stronger on the other side.
This week, I want to stay in that space a little longer. Because there's something we rarely talk about when it comes to navigating those stretches of growth.
Not only do we not talk about them, but most of us also rush through the discomfort, heads down, without stopping to recognize the progress we've made.
May 2020 was a stretch moment for me. I was managing my company through the early months of the pandemic, trying to keep my business and our clients afloat while supporting our young daughters through virtual school, and attempting to keep everyone healthy in the process. It was overwhelming. One especially draining day, I vented to a friend, feeling like I was falling apart.
"How are we ever going to get through this?"
She took a breath and said: "We ARE getting through it."
No doubt, there were going to be more and likely steeper mountains to climb before we'd emerge from the pandemic. But I had failed to see the number of mountains behind us, too.
I nodded, said thank you, and kept moving — because at the time, it's all I could muster.
But she was right. Our kids were safely set up at home. The business was stable. My family was healthy. We weren't through it, but we had made real progress in highly uncertain times.
And I had barely noticed.
It's not just the peaks that shape us. It's what happens in the space between them — between where we are right now and where we’re headed.
That space is where most of our lives unfold. Yet we often hurry through it, eyes fixed on what's next, rarely pausing to take stock of what's already behind us.
Recently on the Mission Forward podcast, I spoke with Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. She was thirty days into her role when the pandemic hit. She set aside her plans for that first 100 days on the job and instead canceled a 600-person gala, sent staff home, and started navigating a crisis. Tonia and her team helped each other stay steady through uncertainty.
Last fiscal year, the Foundation granted approximately $70 million — a record year. Not because the work got easier, but because Tonia kept moving through the peaks and valleys, one step at a time.
The space between is not an inconvenient gap between the better parts of life. It is the heart of life, if we allow it to be.
If you're in a space between — where you are and where you want to be — I encourage you to reflect on the mountains you've already covered, and acknowledge your progress with generosity. Consider what you've learned since your last big challenge, and how much more equipped you are — even if it doesn't feel that way — for what's ahead.
You may not be as far along as you want to be. And yes, there is surely another mountain in sight. But the climber you are today is not who you were when you started.
You've made progress. We all have.
And that — right there, in the space between — is worth celebrating.
This post is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
