From Layoff to 7 Continents Week 12: Why I Stopped Measuring Progress Only by Results
- Allison
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
From Layoff to 7 Continents Week 12: Why I Stopped Measuring Progress Only by Results
For a long time, I thought progress had to be visible.
More views. More sales. More opportunities. More recognition. More “yeses.”
If I could point to a measurable result, I felt like I was moving forward. When those results didn't come as quickly as I hoped, it was easy to question whether the work I was doing was making a difference.
But somewhere along my From Layoff to 7 Continents journey, my definition of progress began to change.
I still believe results matter. Goals matter. Numbers matter.
But I've learned that results are only one way to measure progress.
Sometimes progress happens long before there is anything visible to show for it.
I Used to Look for Immediate Proof
After my layoff, I entered a completely different chapter of my life.
I began pursuing my goal of visiting all seven continents while also building Dream Worldtrotter, creating travel content, developing products, reaching out about opportunities, and putting ideas into the world that hadn't existed before.
Naturally, I wanted to know whether those efforts were working.
Was the content getting views?
Were people engaging?
Were products selling?
Were opportunities opening up?
Those are reasonable questions. But I started realizing how easy it was to allow those numbers to determine whether I considered a day, project, or idea successful.
If something didn't generate an immediate result, I could easily overlook everything I had gained from doing it.
That mindset wasn't giving me the full picture.
I Started Counting Consistency
One of the biggest changes I made was learning to recognize consistency as progress.
Did I show up?
Did I complete what I said I was going to do?
Did I keep working toward the goal even when the response was slower than I wanted?
Consistency doesn't always create an exciting moment to post about.
There may be no big announcement.
No sudden breakthrough.
No immediate reward.
But showing up repeatedly is often what makes future results possible.
My goal of visiting all seven continents didn't happen because of one big decision. It has required countless smaller decisions—planning trips, researching destinations, budgeting, preparing, traveling, documenting the journey, and continuing to move forward.
The same principle applies to building something new.
Sometimes simply continuing is progress.
I Started Counting Courage
I also began asking myself a different question:
Did I do something today that required courage?
Courage can look surprisingly ordinary.
It can mean sending an email when you don't know whether you'll receive a response.
It can mean sharing your story publicly.
It can mean pitching an idea.
It can mean creating something and putting it in front of people knowing they may—or may not—respond.
It can mean trying again after hearing “no.”
Not every courageous action produces an immediate result.
But taking the action still matters.
Every time I've stepped outside my comfort zone, I've expanded what I'm willing to do next.
That is progress.
I Started Counting What I Was Learning
Another form of progress I used to underestimate was learning.
Building Dream Worldtrotter has required me to learn about areas I never expected to explore so deeply—from content creation and marketing to partnerships, products, speaking, media, and entrepreneurship.
Some ideas work.
Some don't.
Some need to be adjusted.
And sometimes the result of trying something isn't success or failure—it's information.
I've learned to ask:
What did this teach me?
If something doesn't generate the outcome I expected, I can still learn why.
Maybe the audience wasn't right.
Maybe the message wasn't clear.
Maybe there were too many steps between someone's interest and taking action.
Maybe the strategy needs to change.
Learning what doesn't work can prevent me from repeating the same mistake. That knowledge has value even when it doesn't immediately appear on a sales report or analytics screen.
I Started Counting Growth
Perhaps the biggest shift has been learning to recognize personal growth as a legitimate result.
Am I more confident than I was before?
Am I making better decisions?
Am I more comfortable navigating uncertainty?
Am I willing to pursue opportunities that I previously might have talked myself out of?
Am I becoming more resilient when something doesn't work?
Those changes are difficult to measure.
There isn't always a number attached to them.
But they influence everything that comes next.
Travel has reinforced that lesson repeatedly.
Navigating unfamiliar places, experiencing different cultures, adjusting when plans change, and continuing toward a goal that once seemed enormous have all changed the way I approach challenges outside of travel too.
Progress Isn't Always Visible Yet
This may be the most important lesson I've learned:
Some progress isn't visible yet.
A conversation today could become an opportunity months from now.
A piece of content could be discovered long after it was published.
A skill I'm developing now could become essential for something I haven't even imagined yet.
A relationship may take time to grow.
An idea may need several versions before it works.
That doesn't mean we should ignore results or continue doing something indefinitely simply because we've invested time in it.
Sometimes the smartest form of progress is recognizing that something isn't working and changing direction.
But I no longer believe that the absence of an immediate result automatically means there has been no progress.
How I Measure Progress These Days
Today, I look at a much broader picture.
Yes, I still look at results.
But I also ask:
Did I show up consistently?
Did I take action?
Did I do something that required courage?
Did I learn something useful?
Did I make a better decision than I would have made before?
Did I move even slightly closer to the larger goal?
And perhaps most importantly:
Am I becoming the person capable of accomplishing what I'm working toward?
Those questions give me a much more realistic view of progress.
From Layoff to 7 Continents
When I look back at the beginning of this journey, it's easy to identify the visible milestones.
The continents traveled.
The destinations visited.
The projects created.
The opportunities that eventually said yes.
But those milestones are only part of the story.
The quieter progress matters too.
Continuing after disappointment.
Trying something different.
Learning from mistakes.
Becoming more comfortable with uncertainty.
Building confidence.
And choosing to keep moving forward even before I knew what the outcome would be.
That's why I stopped measuring progress only by results.
Because sometimes the biggest evidence that you're moving forward isn't what you've achieved yet.
It's who you're becoming while you keep going.
As I continue my From Layoff to 7 Continents journey, that's a lesson I plan to carry with me long after I reach my seventh continent.
How has your definition of progress changed over time?
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