You Might Be Doing Better Than You Think
You’re Doing Better Than You Think
Photo Credit: Vergani_Fotografia via iStockPhoto.com
By: Jamila Gomez
A lot of Black women are harder on themselves than they realize.
There is always something else that needs attention. Another responsibility. Another goal. Another thing to improve. Because so much focus goes toward what still is not finished, it becomes easy to overlook everything that has already been handled, survived, rebuilt, or carried.
A lot of women have gotten so used to figuring things out that they barely stop long enough to acknowledge how much they actually manage on a daily basis. They adapt quickly. They push through quickly. They recover quietly. Then life moves on and expects more from them again.
So even after accomplishing something difficult, the mind immediately moves to the next thing. The next payment. The next task. The next problem. The next expectation. After a while, “enough” starts to feel impossible to reach because the standard keeps moving.
Meanwhile, many women are carrying things today that an earlier version of themselves would have struggled to survive at all.
Some are rebuilding emotionally while still handling work and responsibilities every day. Some are managing health struggles while still trying to be present for the people around them. Some are navigating grief, heartbreak, financial pressure, caregiving, loneliness, disappointment, or burnout while still finding a way to continue moving forward.
That effort deserves to be acknowledged.
Everything does not have to be perfect before someone is allowed to recognize their own progress. There is still room to grow while also admitting that growth has already happened.
Because sometimes progress looks very ordinary while it is happening. It looks like responding differently than before. It looks like setting boundaries that once felt impossible. It looks like getting through a hard season without completely losing yourself inside it. It looks like trying again after disappointment instead of shutting down completely.
A lot of people overlook their progress because it did not happen loudly. It happened slowly, quietly, and through small decisions made over time.
The truth is, surviving difficult seasons changes people in ways they do not always notice immediately. Many women are stronger, wiser, more self-aware, and more resilient than they give themselves credit for because they are too busy focusing on where they think they should be by now.
But life does not move in straight lines. People outgrow things. People restart. People heal slowly. People rebuild in pieces. That does not mean they are failing.
Sometimes doing enough looks different than expected. Sometimes doing enough means continuing to show up for your life while carrying things nobody else fully sees. Sometimes it means resting. Sometimes it means surviving a season that felt like it would never end.
A lot of Black women give so much of themselves to other people, responsibilities, expectations, and survival that they rarely stop to recognize themselves with the same compassion they offer everyone else.
There is nothing weak about acknowledging that something has been difficult while still continuing anyway. And there is nothing wrong with taking a moment to recognize how far you have already come before rushing yourself toward the next thing.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
