Have you ever heard a small voice inside say, “I should have figured this out by now…” or “I should be further along…”? It’s a voice many of us know — one that quietly insists there’s a finish line we should have already crossed.
But life was never meant to be a race toward perfection. There is no predetermined spot where doubt vanishes, growth stops, and we stand completed.
Your age, your stage, your story are not markers of arrival. They are invitations to rest, reflect, and course correct, if necessary. You are not behind. You are not failing.
Each heartbreak, each triumph, each uncertain step forward is simply evidence that you’re living and becoming. You are not a finished masterpiece meant to be framed and frozen. You are an ever-changing, ever-beautiful canvas.
The next time you hear that critical inner voice whisper, “You should have arrived by now,” take a moment to pause. Feel your feet firmly on the ground. Breathe into the moment you’re in. Notice the thought, then imagine it drifting away like a leaf on a river.
You are already enough, not because of what you have achieved, but because you continue to rise.
Arrival was never the goal. Becoming always was.
by Michelle Newman
Originally published in Wiregrass Living, Best Version Media (June 2025)
