One of my favorite quotes comes from ​Siddhartha​ by Hermann Hesse:

“We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.”

It highlights a story that plays out over and over again in our lives:

You’re doing the work. You’re showing up. You’re taking action. But the rewards you expected are nowhere to be seen.

And that’s exactly when the self-doubt starts creeping in. Slowly at first, then all at once.

You start to question yourself. You start to wonder if the future you envisioned is attainable. You start to feel like an imposter in your own story.

But here’s the truth:

Progress often hides in plain sight—it’s invisible to the one experiencing it.

What if your path is a spiral?

The spiral looks like a circle to the one standing on it.

But zoom out and you see the reality:

Each circle exists on a slightly higher plane than the last.

Pay attention to the subtle signs of that elevation:

• You stop worrying about the opinions of others
• You start setting and enforcing healthy boundaries
• You stop complaining about things outside your control
• You start cringing at yourself from six months ago
• You stop focusing on sounding impressive to others
• You start embracing the embarrassment of being a beginner

You’ve grown. You’ve changed. You’ve become different.

You’re not stuck. You’re on a higher plane.

Your path is a spiral. Remember that.