PROGRESS IS NOT A DESTINATION

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am almost certain every person desires to progress in life, we set goals and strive to attain them, which is an absolutely wonderful thing, the only problem that I have come to notice is that many people have unconsciously substituted progress for attaining goals and meeting targets. Please understand; I do believe that attaining goals and meeting targets are progressive steps, but it doesn't encapsulate what progress is. The Encarta dictionary defines progress as, “development, usually of a gradual kind, toward achieving a goal or reaching a higher standard”. Note that by this definition progress is not just a goal, it is a process, a lifestyle of attaining higher standards not just meeting new goals.

In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein's young neighbour asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?" "I devote myself to the study of physics," Einstein replied. The girl looked at him in astonishment. "You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed. "I finished mine a year ago."

Many of us, like Einstein’s young neighbour, felt that the attainment of a degree in physics was the ultimate goal, and after that she had finished. While Einstein saw it as a devotion. A path of continuous progress.

Let me conclude with a question a young journalist asked Pablo Casals, one of the greatest Cellist that ever lived, when he reached the age of 95. "Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?" And Mr. Casals answered, "Because I think I'm making progress." Beloved, your goal is to make progress every day of your life; this attitude differentiates great people from truly great people.