The 1159: Measure Backward

Growing… it’s OKAY.

I’m taking a quick break from the Weight of Words series (which btw, wasn’t meant to be a series) to revisit a simple thought that several experiences this week have taught me.

But first, a quick story.

This past Saturday I went to my sister’s violin recital. I really like violin, like a lot.

Hearing all the students go up, in order of least experienced/skilled to most experienced/skilled, gives a lot of perspective on skill and the sheer beauty of the music itself.

Well, about halfway through or so, this cute little boy (I’d have to guess he’s only 4 or 5) got up from sitting with his family and introduced himself and the piece he was about to play.

I looked over toward his family as his mother pulled out her phone and began to record.

He began to play, and I’ll be honest, it was a little screechy. But it was super cute. And you could tell he had practiced hours just to produce those humble little notes.

Then this random thought hit me.

What will be his reaction? 25 years from now, possibly a 1st chair in the Colorado Symphony, dreaming of performing with the New York Philharmonic.

What will he think as he watches that shaky, lopsided video from back when he was 5?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve watched videos of myself as a kid and I can barely stand 5 seconds of it.

It’s awkward!

My squeaky voice. That pitiful skill level. The confidence I had in SO LITTLE. (still working on that one…)

And that is when I asked myself this: WHY? WHY is it so awkward? WHY do I squirm in my seat watching those videos? WHY might he do the same?

Because we do not remain the same, instead we grow and become better. We progress.

Think about that the next time you are down on yourself for “not being who you should be”. For not “arriving” or “achieving success” whether in general or WHEN you had hoped to. (OR in the same timing as OTHERS had).

You just might be exactly where YOU had hoped to be just ONE year ago, let alone 10 or 25!

See, we do this thing where we get so fixated on what we could be, that we forget who we have become.

And that is a thief of joy and progress itself.

What would it look like if we embraced those silly videos of us as 5-year-olds on the violin as a symbol of progress and growth?

What if we saw the distance between us THEN and us NOW as a testament to our hard work and PROGRESS?

We call that “measuring backward”. It’s when you measure your current self against who you were in the past (say a year, or maybe a month ago).

What lessons have you learned? Write them down.

What skills have you learned? Write them down.

Who have you met in that period of time? Write their names down.

What you’ll see is a list of accomplishments appearing before your very eyes. You may not even recognize yourself.

It’s very humbling, but where I am today is a 5-year-old version of the David Coleman I’ll be in 20 years.

The [your name] reading this today is a 5-year-old version of the [your name] you’ll be in 20 years.

Now yes, we have to be intentional and proactive, etc., but we have to at the very least begin by accepting who we are, where we’ve come from, and then determine to press on to who we can become.

Growing is a beautiful thing!

I’m grateful to the CEO of the company I’m working with this week for being a prime example of what that looks like. Of being ok with identifying the areas where he isn’t where he should be, but while also realizing that he’s come so far and grown so much from when he started.

It sounds simple, but it’s really tough.

My encouragement to you is to Measure Backward this week. It won’t take too long, and it doesn’t need to be any certain level of growth either.

Just anything you’ve learned or increased in.

Be encouraged that by constantly applying yourself to learn and apply, you WILL grow and work toward your goals.

Have an amazing and fulfilling week!

-DC