What it means to be a work in progress
Learning to sit with process
What does it mean to be a work in progress?
The truth is, the definition will always be dynamic. It won’t be the same for everyone, and it won’t even stay the same for one person in all seasons. The meaning shifts as we change. It bends and reshapes itself around the realities we’re living through.
Right now, in my life, being a work in progress means being uncertain while trying to take responsibility and ownership of my life. I wake up and realize I am not quite who I was yesterday, but I am still not who I want to be either.
It’s like living in the in-between. Between clarity and confusion. Between faith and fear. Between what you dream of becoming and who you still are when you close your laptop at 11:47 p.m., wondering if it’s all adding up to anything.
I’m learning new things about myself. Very new things. Things that surprise me, confuse me, and sometimes humble me. I’m learning to accept that I don’t know myself as well as I thought I did and that there are layers of me I haven’t met yet. And honestly, that’s been both freeing and unsettling.
There are moments when I feel lost. Moments when I look back and realize some of my past decisions might not have been the best. But I’m not one to brood over the what ifs moments.
However, I’d be lying if I said it’s easy to accept the mistakes, to look them in the eye, learn from them, and move forward without carrying their weight like a proof of failure.
Sometimes the hardest part of growth is realizing where you could have done better, and still choosing to love yourself through it.
For a long time, I used to think being a work in progress meant I was behind. Like, if I still struggled with certain things, if I wasn’t as consistent or confident as I thought I should be by now, it meant I wasn’t doing enough.
I’d scroll through social media and see everyone else “figuring it out,” landing roles, getting clarity, glowing in their season and I’d think, what am I missing?
But now, I see it differently. Being a work in progress isn’t about lacking. It’s about learning. It’s about being brave enough to sit with your uncertainty and still try anyway. It’s about being open to the fact that maybe what used to define you no longer does and allowing that realization to stretch you instead of shame you.
Every time I’ve tried to rush my growth, I’ve ended up losing my peace. I’ve moved from doing things out of intention to doing them out of fear. I’d start comparing timelines, over-analysing my process, and mistaking movement for growth.
And each time, life would gently remind me that being a work in progress isn’t a punishment. It’s permission.
Permission to change your mind.
Permission to outgrow your old self.
Permission to not have all the answers yet.
There are days when my “progress” looks loud like ticking off tasks, completing projects, or finally finishing something I’ve been postponing. But there are also days where progress is very quiet.
Days when progress looks like resting. Like finally saying no. Like forgiving myself for not knowing better sooner.
And maybe that’s what I’ve been learning the most lately , that progress isn’t always visible. Sometimes it’s just a shift in awareness.
We don’t celebrate the invisible progress enough. The progress that doesn’t make it to our highlight reels and feeds
The progress in learning to respond to unforeseen changes in your life instead of react.
The progress in showing up when you don’t feel ready.
The progress in holding space for your emotions without letting them define you.
The progress in being honest about not being okay and still doing what you can.
These are the kinds of growth that rarely get recognition, but they matter deeply.
Being a work in progress is less about fixing and more about self discovery. It’s about peeling back the layers you’ve used to protect yourself and realizing you can still rebuild in due course. It’s not a straight line. It’s more like circles ,where you return to old lessons, but this time with a little more kindness and clarity.
There are days where I catch myself thinking about who I used to be ,the version of me that made certain choices out of fear or uncertainty. And instead of wishing I could undo her decisions, I’m learning to thank her. She was doing the best she could with what she knew.
Sometimes growth doesn’t look like achievement; it looks like awareness. It’s when you start noticing patterns, how you talk to yourself, how you show up in relationships, how you set boundaries, how you avoid or embrace things that scare you. That noticing? That’s progress.
And the truth is, no one ever fully arrives. Every version of yourself you become will still be under construction in some way. You’ll always be learning, unlearning, and re-learning.
So maybe the goal isn’t to “finish” becoming the best version of yourself. Maybe it’s to stay open to self evolution, to keep choosing curiosity over control, grace over guilt, and patience over pressure.
A few weeks ago, I wrote in my journal:
“I don’t need to have it all together always to be doing okay.”
Because truly, I don’t. And neither do you.
Sometimes “okay” is enough. Showing up imperfectly is enough. Simply admitting you’re still figuring it out is enough.
I think the beauty of being a work in progress is that it frees you from pretending. You stop performing certainty. You stop rushing clarity. You start existing with a little more honesty. You start realizing that you can be both grateful and confused. Both hopeful and tired. Both growing and grieving.
And that’s the truest version of progress, holding all those emotions at once and still choosing to keep going.
In My Garden
If you feel like your life is in a limbo, I hope this reminds you that you’re not behind.
Progress without proof is still progress. You don’t need evidence for it to count. You don’t need to have arrived for it to be valid.
You are allowed to be a work in progress and still be worthy of love, peace, and celebration right now.
You are allowed to be uncertain and still be responsible for your life. You are allowed to feel lost and still be learning who you are.
We are allowed to be in progress and still be enough.
It’s wild how, five years later, I’m actually living by it. I’m only just starting to understand what it really means to me and how much it reflects where I am right now
With warmth,
Mufidah
this is a really profound reminder frfr, tysm!
You captured the phase I am in so beautifully.
Thank youuu 🫂