Keep reminding myself!

I made real progress with my weight over the past week: it started falling again and reached a new low for this effort. People around me began saying, “You are already thin enough,” or “You look much better now that you have slimmed down.” I hear praise like that often lately. But I need to remember what I am aiming for. Until I reach it, the compliments do not change my goal. In fact, the closer I get, the more my resolve is tested.

The same thing happens elsewhere in life. I set a long-term aim to use English as naturally as my first language within ten years. Whenever I make a small breakthrough, friends praise me. They mean well, but their praise can become a trap: I may have done something they cannot do yet, while still being far from my own goal. I can accept the compliment. I should not mistake it for completion.

Trouble begins when I use someone else’s yardstick to measure my progress.

It is a simple example, but it reminds me to stay awake. Keep sounding that little alarm for myself!