As the year comes to a close, I always feel this subtle pressure to arrive somewhere.

To have answers.
To be clearer.
To be more put together than I actually feel.

But the truth is, this past year didn’t teach me how to finish things perfectly.
It taught me how to keep going imperfectly and with more honesty.

Lately, I’m learning to accept the parts of myself that are still under construction. The parts that don’t have clean edges yet. The parts that are evolving in real time. I’m realizing that growth doesn’t always look like a straight line forward. Sometimes it looks like a pause. Sometimes it looks like a pivot. Sometimes it looks like letting go of an idea that once mattered deeply but no longer fits who you’re becoming.

And there’s magic in that.

Some ideas are only meant to live with us for a season. Some dreams change shape. Some goals expire, not because we failed, but because we grew.
Giving yourself permission to pivot isn’t quitting. It’s listening.

That’s where progress over perfection really comes in.

For me, it shows up in the smallest, most ordinary ways.

It’s tidying up part of the house even when I don’t have time to do it all.
It’s practicing for 25 minutes instead of skipping altogether because I don’t have a full hour.
It’s launching something knowing there will be kinks, adjustments, and lessons waiting on the other side.

Progress over perfection is choosing movement instead of waiting for ideal conditions. It’s understanding that momentum is built through imperfect action, not flawless planning.

And honestly, being a work in progress is what connects us.

I tell the people I work with on the lanes all the time: you will never fully master the sport of bowling. It doesn’t matter if you just picked up a ball for the first time or if you’re a seasoned pro. There is always something to improve. A detail to refine. A lesson to learn.

That’s not discouraging. That’s the beauty of it.

The moment you decide you’re done, you stop paying attention. You become complacent. You stall out. But when you stay curious, when you stay open to learning, you stay alive in the process. You stay connected to yourself and to others walking the same path.

We are all works in progress. Always.

And that’s why self-compassion matters more than we think.

Give yourself grace when things don’t go well.
Be gentle with yourself when you feel overwhelmed.
Give yourself permission to slow down, even when the world tells you to charge ahead.

Self-compassion isn’t weakness. It’s a skill. One that allows you to recover faster, adapt better, and stay in the game longer. It’s what keeps progress sustainable instead of exhausting.

As this year ends, I’m not asking myself if I did everything right.
I’m asking if I stayed honest.
If I kept learning.
If I gave myself room to grow instead of demanding perfection.

Maybe that’s enough.

Maybe the goal was never to arrive fully formed, but to keep becoming.

So if you’re ending this year unfinished, uncertain, or still figuring it out, you’re not behind.

You’re right on time.