It´s been a while since I last shared a quote on the blog... Google showed me this one today as I opened a new browser tab; I really liked it:

Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.

Teresa Amabile

What do you think of this? Do you agree? I would add that this happens not only at work, but in every aspect of life. Feeling that we´re making progress in something that matters to us, even if it´s very slowly, is fundamental for us to stay motivated and actively engaged in any project or activity..

In fact, the best kind of progress we can make in the majority of cases is precisely that, slow and steady, partially because time and circumstances often don´t give us room for anything else, but also because the most effective way to achieve long-lasting change (be it individually or as a team, or an organisation) is by progressively introducing minor changes, instead of trying to change too many things at once.

Having said that, it is true that on some occasions we seem to make a tremendous amount of progress in one go, like when there´s a major scientific breakthrough. But as we all know, major scientific breakthroughs don´t happen overnight: there´s a lot of silent work happening in the background that we don´t get to see or appreciate from the outside. And similarly for ourselves, sometimes it´s hard for us to realize how much progress we´ve made already, until one day we suddenly look back and see how far we´ve come.

(Page from the book titled Be kind, be cool, be you! from Nikki Miles, a collection of inspirational phrases accompanied by colourful illustrations. In this case, the message reads "Tiny bits of progress add up to big results".)

Now, over to you: what´s the project or activity you care about the most at the moment? And what are you already doing, or are going to do, to ensure you keep making progress?