Rome was not built in a day.

“Li Proverbe au Vilain” (collection of medieval French poems)

Not too long ago, someone contacted me to ask if I could play at the funeral of a relative. While we talked, they said they’ve been following me for many years and that they’re very impressed by my progress in music. They remembered when I was just starting out, so they wanted to congratulate me on my development.

I was moved hearing them say these things because, sometimes, we focus so hard on where we want to get to that we forget how far we have already travelled. It’s important to acknowledge our progress because that gives value to the effort we’ve already done and the achievements we already have on our belts.

I celebrated my win by thanking this person verbally and by telling myself, “well done”. When you find yourself wishing to celebrate your progress, you can do something similar, or treat yourself to something nice, if you want. The important thing is to stop for a moment and rejoice in the awareness of how far you’ve come in the long journey to your dreams. Don’t wait until you’re done building Rome to feel fulfilled, because every new street, house and wall you get done is an achievement on itself!