In 2017 I bought this stool. I remember it being such a pain to move. It was so heavy I’d have to tilt it and roll it on its base and wiggle it back and forth just to get it where I needed it.

Last month, I found it in my basement. Sitting in a corner, forgotten.

I reached out to test its weight, wondering if I was going to need Caleb to help me bring it upstairs. To my surprise it was super light. So light that instead of barely being able to tilt it, it was in the air and above my head with zero effort.

It felt practically weightless in my hand (I looked it up. It’s 25 pounds).

It’s moments like that that keep me going to the gym. Not because I like the gym (I don’t), or because I feel so good afterward (I typically feel like I’ve been hit by a train).

I keep going because somewhere along the way it’s making something possible for me that wasn’t before. And it’s always fun to discover what it is.

(Not to brag, but I realized last week that I can actually touch my toes now!)

Anyway, I’m thinking about this today because I’m currently wrapping up a long-term engagement with a client.

One of the things she asked me was, “What happens if I need you?” 🥺

Of course, I told her I’m here whenever she needs me. We can do a consultation or a project together any time.

But I also told her that she doesn’t need me as much as she used to.

She has learned and grown so much over the time we’ve worked together. She finds it easier to make decisions she can feel confident about. She knows when to ask herself the tough questions (and what those questions are). She has skills now that she didn’t have when we started.

She just doesn’t always see it.

And I think that’s often true when you’ve gone through a lot of growth. When you’re the one living through it you rarely get a dramatic before-and-after moment.

You just become a little more capable, then a little more capable again, and a little more capable again. Until one day you encounter something that used to be hard and realize it isn’t anymore.

Sometimes the best evidence of progress is simply noticing what no longer feels heavy.

So I’m curious: what feels easier to you now than it did a year or two ago?

What do you know how to do now that used to intimidate you, confuse you, or require a lot more effort?

Hit reply and tell me. I’d genuinely love to hear what your version of the 25-pound stool is.

xo,
Sandra