What does progress mean to you?
Progress, to me, can be many things. It can come in many ways and take many forms. It can be anything.
I could be a work in progress, learning new things, wanting to take the leap, go the extra mile and be a better version of myself.
I could be a plant, poking my green little head out of the soil, growing with support from Mother Nature and encouragement from the sun.
I could also be a work of art, a masterpiece, waiting to be finished and paraded to the masses, the beauty of my completion.
But progress can come as a disguise too. In my case, what I witnessed and experienced at work – a person’s mentality and forward-thinking towards another person.
Where once upon a time, male managers would scoff and frown at a female employee’s inability to be productive as a result of pregnancy or her menstruation; yesterday, I learned that people can change, that they have the power in them to stand out and be the better person.
Case in point:
One day, I applied for medical leave one day due to menstrual cramps. I was aching and sore everywhere, I had cramps that left me horizontal for most of the day, and a lack of appetite left me weak. It’s something women face on a monthly basis. It’s not what we want to have. It’s what we have.
My manager took an interest. He is a man and not because I am a woman. He wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help. Never in all my years of working have I ever discussed my monthly cycles with my managers, male or female. It was always a topic that hung in the air, grossly misrepresenting the reason why I seem to have performance issues every month.
He asked, I replied. He suggested, I accepted. He explained, I listened. He took the first step and showed me that ego is not always the path to success.
And I walked away, a better person than I was before. Because progress makes you want to improve. And progress is when people are able to move forward with the times, accept change and adapt to it.
