When Progress Feels Invisible (1 min read)

Sometimes progress is like a supermoon.

On October 7th, in many parts of the world, the moon looked unusually big and bright in the night sky.

This phenomenon is known as the “supermoon”.  It happens when the moon, Earth, and sun align just right. Dramatic, hard to miss, and quite visible if it’s happening in your time zone.

But here’s something to reflect on - the moon did not suddenly become spectacular! Instead, it circled the earth for a long time, quietly doing its thing, and after days and hours, it shone its brilliance. Big moments are built in silence.

Often, we spend weeks or even months feeling like nothing changes. Maybe a perfect dance step, learning to crochet, or sticking to a fitness routine bears hardly any result. And sometimes it can even be longer. Like, years of searching for the right role, a much-awaited break, the perfect life partner, or some simple appreciation.  A rhythm so sedate that it takes us to the verge of quitting.

If you’ve been pushing toward a goal and feeling stuck, trust the path.  When the results are negligible compared to painstaking efforts, still keep going.  Big moments are built through small, invisible actions. The undeniable progress is proof of your quiet determination when no one was watching. The supermoon saw many dark new moon nights – shadowed and invisible.  But it kept circling, kept moving, and continued to show up.  

Most of us give up right before the visible breakthrough, keep circling the Sun, your Supermoon awaits!

Images are sourced from Google and are subject to copyright.

More Than Your Assumptions

Every year, Disability Day arrives like a polite reminder set by the world.  A day to talk about inclusion, accessibility, and equal opportunities.

While many remain on the sidelines, there’s a wind of change blowing, and I am too positive not to catch the breeze!!

A few days back, I was asked to show around our offices to a group of new recruits. My response, as always, was “sure, most gladly”.  After I disconnected the call, a much younger, agile and sprightly girl flashed before me. Someone who was never chosen despite what she brought to the table – even if it needed no physical effort.

Forever eclipsed by “ones” who had no “defect” and by what people assumed I could “not” do.  It was not my inability but the definition of the world around me that dismissed my capacity.  I had it all - creativity, talent, intelligence, and grit. But quiet, unnecessary exclusion pushed me to slip into an abyss of meagre achievements.

Settling back at my desk after the “tour”, I realised inclusion begins by looking beyond the obvious and partnering without pitying.  It starts with not being seen as an inspiration for just showing up.  It’s never about being a story of resilience or applause for existing.  And it is definitely not about special treatment or sentimental praise.  It’s about something simpler but far more radical - level field, access and chance.  An opportunity to contribute, to belong and to be seen and heard as a resource.

Kudos and cheers to the leaders who understand this simple fact – quietly, firmly, without a fuss.  To them, we are never on the extremes of the spectrum – not inadequate, nor inspirational – just regular.

And maybe… just maybe… the world otherwise is missing out more than we are by mere assumptions.

Change the narrative, look beyond, and you will find brilliance, impact and potential.

Images are sourced from Google and are subject to copyright.