Iteration, iteration, iteration

It is never easy to get things right the first time around. At the start of the semester, I promised myself to improve on what I deemed to be my weaknesses from last semester. I took some time recently to reflect on my progress and was slightly underwhelmed. Even though I had improved in specific ways, I felt it did not meet my expectations. The consequent rumination is the inspiration for this blog post.

Personal development and growth are unlike completing tasks; there are no deadlines or instructions. Rather, it is something that requires constant awareness and effort. Most importantly, it is not something that follows a very linear path. Here's what I mean by that. There will be moments when you will make significant progress, but inevitably, there will be periods of regression. As much as I have tried to bypass these slumps, I have realized that it is wiser to redistribute my efforts to overcoming these moments rather than avoiding them.

I have distilled all of the collective advice that I have gotten from friends, family, coworkers, teachers, etc., into the following characteristics that are necessary for growth:

Determination - Becoming better at something, whether it is the gym, art, etc., is not like the 100m dash. Remember that you are running a marathon, and don't be disappointed when you don't see results immediately.

Confidence - Other people may not see your potential, but you must see it yourself. I have never met a successful person who didn't believe in themself.

Tenacity - As I said before, you will rarely get anything right the first time. Be prepared for things to go wrong, and when they do, be ready to iterate, iterate, iterate.

As a small aside, I want to clarify that I am, by far, no expert at this stuff. I write this post because I feel I have taken many L's in college, and maybe someone can benefit from what I have learned along the way.

I will end this post with a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald that I often revisit when I feel I have fallen short of the goals I set for myself.

For what it's worth, it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over