They told you time would heal. That eventually you'd make progress. So you carry on. Sometimes you go days, weeks without crumbling. But then: There it is again. The pain is so bad, you feel right back where you began. And you wonder: Will I ever make any progress? I wish we could change what happened. We can’t. But maybe we can change our idea of progress. Maybe progress isn’t linear. Maybe we don't travel in straight lines from bad to good. Grief to joy. Beginning to end. Failure to success.   Human progress is circular. Like climbing a spiral staircase. Every day I circle back around to the same insecurities, painful memories, failures, fears, loneliness, addictions - all of it. Every day is a beginning again.And again.It can be tiring. But here’s the magic of the spiral staircase: On each turn of the climb: You grow wiser and stronger and more powerful as you face your pain - and survive it again and again. So even if your pain doesn’t change: YOU DO. Your pain will not take you down. If it hasn’t yet - it won’t. You are stronger than your pain. Keep climbing. - Glennon Doyle Melton