Part One: Two Steps Foward and One Back

I want to take a brief moment to congratulate my daughter, Harper, on being elected Vice President of the Oklahoma Student Council last week. We are all very proud of you.

One of my go-to sayings when things aren’t going well is, “Two steps forward and one back.” Recently, I was in the unfortunate position of using this saying several times in one day, actually for about a week. We all have those days, or even weeks, from time to time. So, generally, this is a phrase I use when things aren’t going like I want them to.

After a week or so of using this phrase way too much, and once things had gotten back to normal,  I was rethinking this phrase, and I realized something. That is, if it is true that, life is just “two steps forward and one back, “ because no matter how good things may go for a while, there will be roadblocks, breakdowns, and other setbacks you just have to deal with. That’s just the way the world is.

Ironically, though, I had overlooked the fact that even if it is, in fact, two steps forward and one back, after doing the math, it still means we are moving forward. And not only are we still moving forward, but at these proportions, we are actually moving forward at a fairly brisk pace, because for every step we may move backwards, we have taken two forward. That is a pretty good rate of return on our investment of moving forward.

This phrase also does not take into consideration the points in our lives when we are forced to take numerous steps backwards before we can move forward, such as when we start a new job or business, move to a new location, marry, or have children, or maybe even health issues. The steps backwards are just part of the learning curve that we have to experience before we have the opportunity to move forward, and life resumes moving forward in a positive direction.

So I realized that when I say, “two steps forward and one back,” I need to be more positive and understand that, despite the steps back, I am still moving forward, and be thankful for that. Granted in the best of all worlds I would like to avoid the steps backwards altogether, and even move forward at a higher rate of speed, such as three, four, or even five steps forward and none back, but unfortunately, that is just not how the world works—at least with any kind of consistency.

So, as I find myself using this phrase, I try to calmly acknowledge that, despite the apparent setback, I am still moving forward.

Next week’s article will further explore how when we find ourselves continually and objectively moving backwards, somehow strangely and inexplicably we actually continue to move forward.