One of the hardest things about living with AMN is learning that progress does not always look the way you expect it to.
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For a long time, I measured progress by what I could accomplish.
Work harder. Train harder. Build more. Keep moving forward.
But AMN has taught me that sometimes progress is simply maintaining what you have.
Some days, progress is getting through the day without letting frustration take over.
Some days, it is listening to your body instead of fighting it.
And some days, progress is reminding yourself that having a difficult day does not mean you are losing.
That last part has been especially important for me.
When your body changes, it is easy to focus on what you cannot do anymore. It is easy to compare yourself to who you were five or ten years ago.
I have done it.
But comparison can become a trap.
I cannot change where I started. I cannot control everything AMN may bring in the future. What I can control is how I respond today.
That does not mean I am positive every day.
It does not mean I never get frustrated.
It means I keep going.
Maybe progress is not always about moving forward.
Sometimes it is about refusing to move backward.
Sometimes it is about adapting.
Sometimes it is simply showing up.
I am learning to measure my life differently.
Not by how much I can accomplish compared to someone else, or even compared to the person I used to be.
But by whether I am still moving toward the person I want to become.
AMN may have changed my definition of progress.
It has not taken away my desire to make progress.
And that is something I intend to hold onto.
