Fingernails and Personal Growth

I was a (super) senior at BYU and worked as a freshman mentor. I remember complaining to a colleague about how I wasn't progressing as fast as I wanted to in some area of my life. David told me, "You can't always see the progress if you look from day to day, but if you look over a longer period of time, the growth is there. Look at your fingernails. If you check everyday it doesn't look like they have grown at all, but if you look at them after a few weeks, you can see the growth." Wow! I think about that comment frequently whenever I look at my fingernails now. True and steady growth is slow.

Recently I have been feeling discouraged about my lack of growth in many areas of my life. I tend to look around and see all the ways I need to improve instead of celebrating my successes. I look at my bedroom and living room covered in papers and think, "Why can't I be more organized? Why do I fail at life?" I am late and miss my yoga class by just a few minutes and beat myself up. "Why can't I just learn to be on time and early to things?" Yes, years after recognizing that I struggle with these things, I am still dealing with them.

So, looking at things from a "fingernail" perspective, here is what I have slowly improved on over the years:

1. Making my bed. I am awesomely regular about doing this, thanks to my college roommate, Kari. Kari taught me something her grandma said. "Always make your bed. Then, no matter how the rest of your day goes, at least you have accomplished one thing." Yes, Kari's grandmother is right. Sometimes that is the only thing that gets done that day, but it gets done and it looks good! Thank you, Kari's grandmother.

2. Clothing. I recently bought some clothes and showed my roommate/best friend, Kezia. As a recently turned 30-year-old, I feel like it is important to be classy and to dress classily (Audrey Hepburn and Michelle Obama are my fashion icons). I finally am doing it. I am finally looking classy! Kezia said, "What do you mean you are finally being classy? You have been classy for a while. I think you just forgot what you used to look like." She is so right. I have enough awkward pictures to prove it. Besides having a desire to learn on my mission (from classy companions), post-mission I learned about fashion by reading 20 books on fashion from the public library (tax dollars well spent, if you ask me).

3. Exercise. I have been better about exercising now than I have been for my whole life, I feel like. In college I noticed that the bulk of my clothing was exercise clothes, because I was trying to project my desires to be healthy and active (I am avoiding the word athletic on purpose) into my clothing. Now, I have a membership to a women's only gym and have been pretty regular about taking classes. I still only lift my barbell with a total of 5 pounds on it, but my body is changing. I am happy. I love moving my body in a tai chi/yoga/pilates class, in a strength-training class, or in a step class. I have found that the more I take care of my body the more I appreciate myself. My body is incredible and I am learning to take care of it.

4. Travel. I am identifying my dreams and going for them. I went back to Peru with my parents earlier this summer and booked a flight to finally visit Washington, D.C. I went to NYC last March with my sister and mom and had a blast! I am trying to live my dreams.

5. Flossing. I am really good at it and do it every day. I also use mouthwash. I am proud of myself for these hygienic habits. Oh, I have also gotten better about showering regularly (as in almost every day, not twice a week anymore). #progress

So, your homework? Look at years past. What used to be a struggle but now is easier for you? How have you improved? What are you getting better at? It is okay to celebrate your success, no matter how slow or seemingly insignificant it is. You are getting better. It just takes time. :)