It’s gonna be another short post today; I’m still cogitating on things. I’ve had the day off, and even managed to have a productive morning. Even better, I stayed largely on task until lunchtime! Of course, for every lurch forward there’s a shuffle back. My afternoon has largely been lost to internet surfing and games (not even the one I want to be playing, but that’s a different issue). But hey, progress is progress. I did recently read an article on Cracked that seemed relevant: “5 Things That Have to Happen Before You Fix Your Crappy Life.” For those of you who don’t read Cracked, I think it’s a great website. It seems to set itself apart from the myriad other “listicle” sites by actually taking the time to occasionally say something profound and useful. All with a dash of humor and self-deprecation, of course. But this article was quite timely for me, since I am feeling the need and motivation to “fix [my] crappy life” right now. It reminded me that, if nothing else, it’s necessary to remember that there is no set end point to self-improvement. Change comes slowly and incrementally, such that you often can’t see how far you’ve come (or if you’ve moved at all) until quite a ways down the line when you can look back properly. In addition to being slow, none of these steps are easy. I’m trying to accept that, while at the same time not getting discouraged. I’ll probably fail and backslide more than once, but hopefully my overall progress will be forward. In other words, you should read the article.