Progress Isn't Loud
Why your quiet consistency matters more than you think.
You’re doing great.
Seriously.
If your day is anything like mine, every hour is spoken for. There's always something to do, someone to help, something to fix, accomplish, or complete. When the day winds down, you get a little bit of “me time”, and finally catch a moment to yourself. You begin to wind down in your own version of zen and then - it happens: the doom scrolling begins.
doom-scroll - To spend excessive time online scrolling through news or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.
Merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doomscroll
Late-night scrolling sends a curated stream of everyone else’s wins your way. Promotions. Trips. Renovations. Side hustles. New jobs. Suddenly, all your own busyness is under a microscope. Subconsciously, you start to measure the immeasurable:
Am I doing enough? Achieving enough? Am I enough?
Pause.
Remember - You’re doing great.
Seriously.
Comparison has a funny way of distorting reality. It takes someone else’s highlight reel and runs it against your behind-the-scenes. Morgan Housel, in The Psychology of Money, puts it like this:
Someone driving a $100,000 car might be wealthy, but the only data point you have about their wealth is that they have $100,000 less than they did before they bought the car. Or $100,000 more in debt. That’s ALL you know about them.
And he’s right.
The family on that amazing trip? It could be fully loaded on credit cards they’ll be paying with insane interest over the next 5 years. That friend who just bought a house? They might be cash-poor and stretched thin.
Use others as inspiration, not measurement.
Let their accomplishments spark ideas, not insecurity. Let their success remind you of what’s possible. See something you wish you had? Great! Focus on that with curiosity, not comparison.
In this same chapter, Morgan also writes that
“Wealth is what you don’t see”.
No one is posting that they were frugal and worked a second job for a whole year to get to where they are now. People share the destination, not the path. Remember this so you can stop playing defense with your time and energy and start moving with purpose.
Progress isn’t loud.
It doesn’t always show up in photos, titles, or new things.
Sometimes, it’s the quiet consistency. The way you show up for yourself and others, even when it’s hard. The fact that you’re still here—still growing, still trying—that matters. A lot.
So the next time you feel behind, remember:
You’re doing great.
Seriously.