It’s a little bit wintery here in the Northeast. Well, maybe a lot wintery. As we’ve had about 12 inches dumped on us so far with this current storm. Which poses a bit of a problem for me because I have a little toyota corolla (I sold my truck right before winter) and no snow tires. For the most part I do OK driving in the snow.
Sometimes though, I have a bit of an issue getting out of my barn’s driveway.
This morning I went to take care of my horses before the storm got bad. My barn is about 15 minutes from me and it’s not a bad drive. The hills are what get me. My car doesn’t weigh much and sometimes (a lot of the time) when it snows I have to rev my engine a lot to get it to go about 2 inches a second.
My barn’s driveway isn’t bad going down. It’s a huge downhill driveway but getting out is a different story. The top of the driveway is very steep and when it is snowing out I have to get a lot of momentum to get my car onto the road. I also have to hope no one is coming around the bend because if they are I’m most likely going to get hit.
So this morning I had to attempt to get out of the driveway three times before I was able to get out. I also had to back down the very steep driveway twice. At the third attempt I had to keep my car revved up and I had to head out like I was going to the left even though I had to turn right. My car barely moved at the top of the hill but I was determined to get it onto the road and with a lot of finesse and luck I was able to get onto the road.
I was talking to my mom about how my life seems to being going backwards and how it seems like I’m not going anywhere; while talking to her I paused and thought about my attempts to get out of my barn’s driveway this morning.
I think that I am moving forward; slowly but surely and even when I have to go backwards I am still learning new things. This little analogy reminded me that even when everything seems to be at a stand still you are trying you are moving forward if you just keep on pushing for it. I have determination. I may procrastinate and I am get bogged down by self-doubt but I am determined to succeed. I am determined to have the life I dream of and as long as I keep revving my engine I will get there; slowly but surely.
A Purveyor of Poorly Penned Prose 
This is such a great reminder to start measuring our success in different ways. I know I’ve felt really discouraged recently but you’re absolutely right about personal growth being just as important as feeling like you’re moving forward. It’s really all about perspective and any setback can turn into something positive if we just make the choice to change our outlook.
I’m glad I could give you some motivation. I know that I’ve been stuck “spinning my wheels” for a while and although I often think I should stop trying I find myself still trying even when I think I should quit.