Work in Progress

I saw someone on Instagram recently admit that they were a work in progress. They were talking about building on new habits and were reminding us that they were not perfect, that they were a work in progress, and for some reason, those words struck me.

They struck me because we should all be works in progress. In fact, I don’t think there is a work in progress, because that connotes a final destination, that in fact, you will reach the end, you will reach progress and then the work will be done.

In my experience, the work is never done. I say this not to scare you or make you anxious or fearful that you will never achieve the goals you have set, but rather that we are all works in progress, at all times, because we are always growing.

For example, the work I have done over the years to heal my relationship with food, to quit dieting, and to accept and love my body, means that it is much easier for me on a daily basis to live a happy, comfortable, and safe life in my skin. But the work is never done. 

I still get triggered and have to work through negative body image thoughts. Right now I am struggling with what to do with loose clothing after weight loss became a side effect of my medication. I am in this weird spot where all my pants are big, but I feel this anxiety to shop. I am fearful of the changing room, of the reality that I might be between sizes and thus trying to step into the next size down could be tight and uncomfortable and scary.

Now, I have done so much work. I know my body is not my enemy. I know how challenging clothing shopping is for women with the variation of sizing across brands, and the messages we have received about attire and weight loss.

I also have the tools to tackle a changing room without leaving in tears or letting the size of my body dictate my self-worth, but I still find it hard. I still feel this resistance to buy new pants. And that is because I am always doing the work, I will always be a work in progress when it comes to my body, myself, and my life.

I think we should all embrace that fact. I think we should all embrace that we will never be perfect. That we will never be finished. That our journey is long and winding and that we will grow and change as people again and again. That as we learn new things, as we experience new things, we will change and thus we will always be a work in progress.

I believe you are doing yourself a disservice to say you are a work in progress, that in doing so you’re admitting to being messy, to trying to grow, to work on yourself, and the truth is we all are. So you don’t have to call it out, you don’t have to preface a story with that, you just have to be.

Continue to be. Continue to grow. Continue to do the work. Continue to grow your self-esteem and self-worth outside of material things or goals. Continue to be a work in progress because that is what we should all be, that is what we should all strive for.

There is no destination when it comes to life, or your body, or your mind. So just keep working, keep growing, keep healing.