We often think of progress as going from point A to point B. We know that it’s rarely a straight line, but recently it feels like even less of a straight line than ever.

Any time I’ve ever visualized what getting from point A to point B looks like, I’ve always drawn a bit of a crazy line. The fact is that there’s days that I don’t even feel like I’m on target, or that I’m even going in the right direction. I mean, it seems so simple, to get from point A to point B, but simple rarely means easy.

The visualization above was a quick piece of art I put together this morning. It starts at point A, but then proceeds to head all over the place on it’s way to point B. Time is represented as color. There’s days that feel like I’m at least headed in the right direction, and then there’s days that I feel like not only am I headed in the opposite direction, but off in some other direction altogether. There’s days that I actually overshoot my goals, and think, “Okay, now I’ll set my next point”, only to find myself back near where I started.

Progress is not easy. It seems simple, but it’s not easy. Some days are better than others. Maybe the point isn’t to get from A to B, so that a new point can be established, but to understand where point A is, and where you’d like point B to be, and then start that journey. Who knows what you’ll encounter on your trip, or exactly where you’ll end up. We should be committed to the trip though, constantly re-evaluating, and establishing good habits that will bring us further along in our journey.

Maybe it’s less about getting to point B, and more about the appreciation of the journey. Perhaps there’s beauty and art to be found in a life lived with intent. Rather than seeing every new corner as an impediment to getting to point B, we can see them as opportunities to make choices and add to our life’s story.