Flourishing Life Society
  • Flourishing Life Society
    • Flourishing Favorites
    • Articles by Year Published
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Psychology Definitions
  • Psychology of Wellness
    • Psychology of Emotions >
      • Emotional Data Base
    • Psychology Article Archive
  • Personal Development
    • Health and Fitness
    • Personal Development >
      • Personal Development Archive N-Z
  • Flourishing Relationships
Home | Personal Development | Change Article Archive | Making Progress

Making Progress

Life Changing Growth Through Small Manageable Steps

BY: T. Franklin Murphy | February 2018 (edited January 13, 2022)
A pair of shoes taking steps. A Flourishing Life Society article on personal development
Adobe Stock Images
We make progress with small, continuous, and manageable steps. 
We can change. Life may feel lacking, pushing us to seek more. Self-improvement, human growth, may cure this dissatisfaction with life; improvements in thought or action increase well-being. Escaping the weight of anxiety, we amuse our senses, dreaming of gigantic life-altering changes; but once engaged, the challenge of adjusting natural reactions, dampens motivations and we lose interest, faced with the drudgery of the task. We bask in comforting thoughts of a better life; but struggle with creating that life.

Sometimes big hopes motivate big action. Other times, not. In most situations, intentional change—the permanent kind—stalls between the dream and actualization. The dreams are aesthetic—they feel good; the work to attain the dream is a distasteful journey. Somewhere in the process, if we are to improve our lives, we must plow through the discomforts, surmount the obstacles and implement the change.
 
We achieve purposeful change through small painful steps, reaching beyond comfort, and not through a single momentous feat. Implementing successful change is a skill, requiring self-awareness, persistence, and resources. We must acknowledge current realities, envision future possibilities, and engage in the proper work.

Progress is Overcoming Challenges in Each Step of Change

Each step is fraught with challenges. Our realty may be distorted, muddying assessment of the starting point, our dreams may be misguided and unrealistic, and our efforts may be ineffective. But errors can be fixed, failures studied, and corrections employed. To arrive at the desired destination, we must proceed cautiously, objectively measuring progress, acknowledging new challenges and evaluating the effectiveness of efforts.
 
Often the misguided actions that creates havoc in our lives have a long history, set in motion during childhood learning. These unhealthy patterns entrenched in the basic connections of the mind are stubborn. Although the original implanted learnings were adaptive to a chaotic environment, they often are maladaptive to the serenities of healthy adult connections. These misguided actions, motivated by surges of emotions, need a different approach. The actions are symptoms of faulty learning and protective defense reactions rather than simple causes of being bad.
"Often the misguided actions that creates havoc in our lives have a long history, set in motion during childhood learning."
These deep invaders are subject to change and should be the target of attention. The small manageable steps include recruiting reputable and expert help, avoiding the hype of unproven methods by relying on proven remedies. Lives change when action is addressed through modifying faulty motivations internally and implementing helpful behaviors externally.
 
Begin immediately, lift your sights to something better, open the door for change, seek effective answers, garner supportive resources and embrace the wondrous journey to flourishing. Courageously, take a small step into the darkness, holding hands with the joys, sorrows and richness that flow with a flourishing life. ​
Please support Flourishing Life Society with a social media share or by visiting a link:
Twitter Reddit LinkedIn Email
T. Franklin Murphy
T. Franklin Murphy
Wellness. Writer. Researcher.
​T. Franklin Murphy has a degree in psychology. He tirelessly researches scientific findings that contribute to wellness. In 2010, he began publishing his findings.

Index:

Flourishing in Life
  • Personal Development
  • Mindfulness
  • Addiction Recovery
  • Wellness 
Psychology of Wellness
  • Emotions​
  • Personality
  • Defense Mechanisms
Flourishing Relationships
  • Intimate
  • Parent/Child
  • Society
Health and Fitness
Research
About Flourishing Life
Wellness Links:
External Link: 7 self-care habits you should develop at work
External Link. When Letting Go Can Actually Be Empowering
Do Better with Dan. Formula for Happiness
External Link: Aging brains and how to keep them sharp
External Link: How Vitamins Went From Medical Marvel to Marketing Scam
External Link: Five easy steps to forming healthy, sustainable habits

​Other Flourishing Life Society articles of interest on this topic:

Shortcuts to happiness may escape pain; but the temporary relief often has a high cost of  long-term trouble.
Trying to feel better is a formidable challenge for many. The well-being industry has many theories. Success requires finding proven paths and patiently working towards a better life.
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Success Traits
We don't magically transform. The process of change is often slow and methodical. Slow down, watch yourselves, and let small choices create major changes.
We are either growing or decaying. We don't remain idle.
We making choices daily for our health,security, and connections. Life constantly beckons us to act. Often one action may serve one need while neglecting or damaging another need. We must find balance, somewhere in the golden middle.
Picture
Reciprocal Determinism. A Flourishing Life Society article link
A Flourishing Life Society Link. What is Healthy Living?
As adults, we can create better surroundings to encourage our continued growth. Some do the opposite, surround themselves with others and influences that begin the process of decay.
FLS internal Link-- Growth Through Recovery: Recovery is a process of growth. There are four domains of growth that we should concentrate on to catapult us back into the game of life.
Flourishing Life Society Link. Ego Depletion. The strength model of self-control
Internal Link: Achieving our potential...Healthy growth depends on supportive environments. As adults, we must create an environment that provides nutrients and protection.
Futures depend on action following thought. We must do more than dream to build better lives.
We don't spontaneously grow. We need the necessary ingredients. Our souls need to be fed and protected.

Flourishing Life Society Article Collections:

Picture
Picture
Psychology Theories article archive link
Picture
Picture
Picture
We improve the circumstances of our lives, moving from wilting to flourishing, with small manageable steps.
Picture
Flourishing Life Society
  • Human Flourishing
  • Psychology of Wellness
  • Flourishing Relationships
  • Psychology Definitions​
  • Privacy Policy
​Other Links
  • About US
  • Companion Site​
  • Most Popular Articles
  • Psychology Topics A-z
Articles:
  • New Articles​
  • Last year's Publications​
  • External Psychology Links​
​Favorite Topics:
  • Mental Illness Archive
  • Personality Archive
  • Personal Development
  • Psychology of Emotions
News Letter

    New Article Updates

Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Flourishing Life Society
    • Flourishing Favorites
    • Articles by Year Published
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Psychology Definitions
  • Psychology of Wellness
    • Psychology of Emotions >
      • Emotional Data Base
    • Psychology Article Archive
  • Personal Development
    • Health and Fitness
    • Personal Development >
      • Personal Development Archive N-Z
  • Flourishing Relationships