Day 4,337—Progress—

 

It is hard to measure progress most of the time because when things start moving in the right direction usually it is not because one thing changed but instead because a dozen things changed which impacted a variety of aspects some of them seen by those measuring progress but most of them missed. After the Civil War which marked the most progress in this country for equal rights for all, we went through such an extreme backsliding, I am sure people living through it most have wondered if the Civil War had even made a big difference. Andrew Johnson was elected and through his administration he reversed every important decision that Lincoln and Grant passed. Much like what we’re dealing with now. When Obama was elected, he did a lot of great things for the country most notably the Affordable Care Act but now the Affordable Care Act might as well be considered in a coma for all the good it is doing. Yet a hundred years after the Civil War we had the Civil Rights movement which was another huge step forward but once again it was followed by extreme backsliding to put things back to where they were. I don’t know if this country is going to survive what is happening now. We’re very close to slipping into a place where it will be difficult to vote and elect officials who represent the voice of the people, but we can hope and keep focused on trying to do the right thing to the people in our community and our loved ones. It might not feel like a lot, but it is something because we only see so little; it is important to remember that there is always more that we don’t know. 

I wasn’t planning on writing about this, and I was mainly thinking about progress associated with my running and with my school but it helps give me perspective. I am in a period where I am not improving every day but I keep challenging myself and striving to do better even through objectively my progress might be uneven in general it is more important to focus on the short term when there is just so much outside of my control and so little I know ultimately what will make a difference at my school and what will help my running. I can say objectively pushups are getting easier, and they’re helping me feel more like myself. I am up to being able to do 40 in one set which is a start but I would really like to get back to a place where I can do 50 in a set like it is nothing. I haven’t weighted myself in a long time but I think I have lost some weight which helps for the pushups and for running.