“Most of us are better at waiting for change than we are at noticing it.”
Hey Rollers,
I’ve been thinking a lot about how easy it is to miss progress while we’re waiting for change to feel complete.
We tend to look for the big moment – the clear and obvious end point. The moment where we can confidently say, “Right, now it’s different.” And until that moment arrives, it’s easy to tell ourselves that nothing is really changing.
But more often than not, that’s not true.
What’s actually happening is more subtle and harder to measure than we’d like. And because we’re not taking notice of it, we assume we’re stuck – even when we’re not.
For about the last 18 months, I’ve been carrying an intention to create more space in my life. Not less work or lower standards, just more space. Mentally, emotionally, and practically. As the saying goes, “In order to pick something up, you’ve got to put something down.”
And if I’m honest, for a long time it didn’t feel like I was doing very well at it.
I didn’t lose sight if the intention, but the outcome didn’t always feel aligned with it
But last week, something small happened that caught my attention because it felt different.
On Monday afternoon, the day before a red-eye flight to Durban for a two-day client engagement, I closed my laptop at 4:30pm and went for a swim with Em at Silvermine Dam. If you know it, you’ll know what a beautiful spot it is.
What did I notice?
That I would normally have worked until 10pm. Preparing, over-preparing, tweaking slides, re-reading notes – all in the name of not letting anyone down. No space.
Then, while in Durban, I went for two early morning runs along the beach before our sessions started. Again, nothing remarkable on the surface.
But what did I notice?
I would usually have been up at the same time, sitting in front of my laptop. Preparing some more, checking and rechecking my inbox, making sure no one was disappointed. No space.
Neither of these moments suddenly made my life “balanced” or “figured out.”
But they were evidence. (And you know how I love to stack evidence.)
Evidence that something I’d been working toward quietly, often imperfectly, was starting to show up in real moments. Evidence that the intention to create space wasn’t just an idea anymore, but something beginning to live in my behaviour.
I could have missed that if I wasn’t paying attention.
If I’d stayed focused only on whether I’d arrived at the big change, I’d have overlooked the fact that I was already moving in the right direction.
That’s the thing about progress: if you’re not taking notice, you assume nothing is happening.
So maybe the question isn’t, “Have I changed yet?”
Maybe it’s, “What feels different if I’m willing to notice?”
Because progress doesn’t always need more effort, sometimes it just needs to be seen.
Until next week.
Keep rolling.
Justin 👊
Take Action in 3 Minutes:
Pause for a moment and take stock.
Ask yourself:
👉 What feels different compared to six months ago?
– A choice you’re making more easily
– A boundary you’re holding with less effort
– A habit that’s improved, even if it hasn’t disappeared
Don’t rush to judge whether it’s “enough.”, just notice it.