Every Kick Is a Boost

Different Ways to Measure Progress

Sometimes we all need to pause, be one with the silence and listen to our hearts, our instincts, and our gut reactions. And sometimes in that pause we are reminded of wise sayings we’ve heard from others, including wise family, friends, and sometimes an old video clip from a favorite actor’s award show acceptance speech. Good advice comes from some unexpected places if we are open to listening, receiving, and applying it as appropriate for our own journey. In my case, it was a quote from one of my favorite Golden Girls tv show actors, Rue McClanahan.

In her 1987 Emmy Awards speech, Rue McClanahan recounted a conversation she had with her mother when some agents turned her down saying she wasn’t photogenic and would never work in television. Her mother reminded her that “every kick’s a boost.” That is a powerful reminder to me and to all of us, that every kick we experience in our professional and personal lives may also serve as a boost to motivate, lift us up, and inspire us to reach the goal(s) we seek. It may also be a reminder of different ways to view how we measure progress towards our goals. Similar to Rue, I’ve experienced a lot of kicks over my life, some I even gave my own self through doubt and giving in to my imposter syndrome.

Some of the kicks I recall from childhood to adulthood include telling myself I couldn’t learn how to ride a bicycle without falling, I couldn’t climb a tall pine tree in our neighborhood, I couldn’t afford or figure out a way to afford buying my first car on my own, I couldn’t make it through military basic training, I couldn’t learn to swim, I couldn’t learn the various jobs or excel at the careers I’ve had over the years, I couldn’t find a loving husband, I couldn’t get married to a man I love, I couldn’t buy my own home, I couldn’t get a college degree, I couldn’t get the promotion, new job, career advancement I sought, I couldn’t lose weight and get healthy, I couldn’t be a writer, I couldn’t be a professional coach, I couldn’t be…..fill in the endless blanks.

Those kicks came from others as well as from myself. But each kick was a boost, encouraging me, energizing me to get up and use it as motivation to show myself and others that I could indeed do all of those things and much more! And I have and continue to do the things that others, and I, told myself I couldn’t do. I turned those kicks into boosts. And as I embrace the mantra I’ve mentioned before of Progress Not Perfection, I’m reminded that measuring progress may be done in many different ways. For example, my progress towards health goals can be measured in not only the number on the scale, but my body measurements, how my clothes fit, my health-related numbers from the doctor, and unsolicited positive feedback from others who notice a positive change in my physical appearance.

Those are many different ways I can measure progress as I turn each kick into a boost. Similarly, in personal and professional goals, a simple measure of progress may be nothing more complicated than shifting your perspective to seeing each kick as a boost. That alone is a great measure of progress towards your goals! For those of you who experience imposter syndrome as I do, please let me remind you that the majority of people in the world, even the most successful and accomplished, experience imposter syndrome and self-doubt at some point. It is human nature. But it is a signal that you are trying to do something new, bold, and potentially life changing. Your mind wants to protect you and stay in the safe place, which triggers the imposter syndrome. But when you recognize that self-kick of your imposter syndrome as a boost that motivates and inspires you to get creative and curious about how to continue progress towards your goal, then it no longer has power over you.

So, as always, I encourage you to reflect on your own stories for when you’ve experienced a kick from others or yourself and how you used it as a boost for motivation towards your goals.  Remember there are many ways to measure your progress towards goals as well. So, go out and turn those kicks into a boost! And remember progress not perfection because as always, Your Story Matters.