Habits take time. Be gracious with yourself. Let yourself grow– after all, progress isn’t a straight line. It’s jagged, has ups & downs, and may throw you in every direction. But with time, consistency, and an openness to growth, things come together and your hard work pays off.

This is the mindset I formed when I started my health and fitness journey four years ago. At the end of my sophomore year of high school, I “retired” from playing volleyball, a sport that I loved and had invested myself in for five years. I felt in my bones that I needed a fresh start; a change in sport that would personally push me to be an all-around better version of myself (emotionally, physically, spiritually). I took a leap and landed on cross country– long distance running.

Here’s the thing: It’s hard to change one’s lifestyle. I so desperately wanted to be a natural at running three mile races in under twenty minutes (right off the bat, of course), but had to quite literally surrender to humility. I had been trained to jump high and sprint fast in volleyball. Suddenly, my body was learning to build up the endurance to run steadily for an hour at a time. This was no quick endeavor.

In fact, I spent most of my time trailing behind the pack of fifty-something runners as I learned to find my pace. I was pretty slow, but I knew that if I wanted to progress and get better, I had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. There is something that I remember one of the best members of our team saying, and it has stuck with me since. “It takes a lot of confidence to be at the back of the pack.” And it does.

No one starts a new endeavor as the best or at the “front of the pack.” It takes hard work, humility, and a series of small steps to equal a big change. Some days might even require starting over at square one, and that’s okay. The key lies in enjoying the process and accepting where you’re at. It took many, many practices, progression in miles run, and even a shift to healthier eating in order to drop my race time by ten minutes (a year later)!

I’m not saying that long-distance running is your particular remedy to kick-start or continue your health & fitness journey like it was mine (though it has a special spot in my heart and I will always support it). Maybe you want to eat more vegetables. Maybe you struggle with negative thoughts. Maybe you want to be kinder. Maybe you have a certain goal for yourself. My unsolicited advice is: allow yourself to start small. We all have to start somewhere, right? Don’t let the fear of not being good enough or being the best hinder you from starting at all. And, know it’s okay for your progress, whatever it may be in, to be messy as you venture on. Lastly, never forget to be proud of yourself for your effort and accomplishments (no matter what size)!

Like running, each step–though singular– adds up, and eventually gets you to where you want to be.