Growth is quiet, it rarely announces itself, but it is happening whether you notice it or not.
In this reflective episode, Kimberly pauses the usual format to celebrate how far her listeners have come over the podcast's first nineteen episodes. She reminds listeners that most of us stand too close to our own lives to see the changes taking shape, focusing instead on what still needs work rather than what has already transformed. Kimberly shares a personal story about a friend and former coworker whose visible transformation in confidence and happiness became a powerful example of what growth looks like from the outside, and she opens up about her own evolution over the past year, from healed relationships to stronger boundaries to a deeper sense of purpose for her family's future. She closes with an invitation to journal about personal growth over the last six months and to share it publicly as a way of honoring the journey.
This episode is a gentle reminder that worth isn't tied to accomplishment, it's present right now, in the middle of the process. Progress deserves to be celebrated, even when nobody else is watching.
Transcripts
Episode 20
Kimberly: [:
Kimberly: I have so many wonderful people, male, female, that have reached out, and they're encouraged, and they tell me about the small steps that they've been taking, the way that they're walking through things, the way that they're choosing to change their own life, and I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you.
ed exercising. I know people [:
Kimberly: I know people who have mended relationships. I know people who have forgiven other people or in themselves. I know people that have decided that their life doesn't change because they're not moving, and that is so wonderful. And I want us to do something today that we just don't do enough.
Kimberly: I want us to take a pause to look back and reflect and celebrate all the progress that you guys have made, because so many of us are spending our lives focused on what's next that we never acknowledge how far we've actually come and what we have overcome. So I wanna say, let's call today's episode, Look How Far You've Come Most of us are standing so close to our lives that we can't see the changes.
been building, the different [:
Kimberly: And because the changes happen gradually, we often overlook them. But you have been killing it Think about where you were six months ago What were you carrying? What were you trying to figure out? What felt impossible? Now ask yourself what's changed. Maybe your circumstances haven't like, changed drastically, but perhaps you have.
Kimberly: Maybe you're stronger. Maybe you're more self-aware. Maybe you learned to say no. Maybe you started healing. Maybe you've taken steps toward a dream. Maybe you survived a season you weren't sure you would even get through. My friend, that is growth
Kimberly: And I am sure other people are seeing the fruit of that growth if we go over the last 19 episodes, I think this is episode 19, that I'm recording if I put them in order
courage, boundaries, grief, [:
Kimberly: I think we've been able to get through getting rid of that finish line mentality. You know, that growth is an ongoing thing in our lives, that it will always, I hope, be something that you're willing to do always. Yes, you will heal, but you will grow. And then we're just gonna change. We're gonna become fully more involved into, evolved into the person that we are meant to be, that we want to be
Kimberly: We can fall into traps. one of the biggest traps we fall into is believing that We'll be happy when we have everything we wanted, when we lose the weight, when we get the promotion, find the relationship, launch the business when we reach the goal, but life isn't a finish line.
Kimberly: It's a journey, [:
Kimberly: There is strength in the molding, you know? And the end goal is worth the struggle
Kimberly: Today I want you to release the idea that your worth is tied to how much you've accomplished, 'cause you are worthy right here, right now, in the middle of the journey. Give yourself credit. Let's take a moment.
You started over? You chose [:
Kimberly: In fact, they may matter more than many of the other accomplishments we celebrate publicly
Kimberly: I sit here in this season and I think about one of my friends. I mentioned her in the very beginning of my podcast, and she was the one I used to say who was always, a little bit more negative way back in the day. Man, I'm so proud of her. I see her, and anyone who sees her, like other people in my office see her, and they're like, "Man, she looks stinking amazing.
Kimberly: She looks happy. She looks healthy. She looks confident," and she is confident. She's so smart, and the office that has her is so lucky to have her. She is an amazing employee. You're not gonna find one better. She barely ever is out. She shows up every day. She does her work meticulously. She is amazing, and she is beautiful.
Kimberly: And [:
Kimberly: She, she got her groove back, and sh- you can see it. You can see it in the confidence in the way she walks, the way she talks, her smile. She glows. And that makes me so happy because you know what's funny is she does do the work. She really does. She puts effort into wanting to always strive to be better for her, her husband, her children, her boss, her coworkers.
Kimberly: She's just... Chef's kiss off to her. She is a wonderful gal.
nd writing our gratitudes or [:
Kimberly: What expectation, belief, or habit did you let go of? And what is beginning to grow in your life that you want to continue nurturing?
Kimberly: You know, I can say I'm definitely in a different place than I was a year ago. Heck, I'm in a different place than I was six months ago
Kimberly: I still have my same job that I've been at for 21 years, but I, still have other things that I still do that are the same, but I have a lot of new things. I stepped out. I did things. I have healed relationships. I have healed friendships. I have
py in my marriage. I'm happy [:
Kimberly: They are my priority. My little, my little nest. My kids, my grandkids I'm extremely happy and I am trying every day to always improve, to give them a hope and a future, to make life better for them so they don't have to worry about me when I'm an old, decrepit lady that my children, I'm never a burden, that I am a blessing
Kimberly: That would be what I wish for my children, that is what I wish for my family, and that is what I'm working so hard for. I want to be able to take care of them, to leave them my mark on the world for them, have little things that they can remember me by, and be proud that, " Oh, that was my Amma." You know, that makes me happy.
Kimberly: " That was my wife. That was my Amma. That was my mom."
Kimberly: I'm more
d and what I'm striving for. [:
Kimberly: I'm not the same woman I was when I started this journey, and neither are any of you You're not. Growth changes us, sometimes dramatically, sometimes quietly, but it changes us nonetheless. And while there may still be dreams ahead of us, lessons to learn, and mountains to climb, today is not about what's missing.
Kimberly: It's about recognizing what is already present. The wisdom that we've gained, the strength that we gained, the resilience that we gained, the courage that we gained, and the hope, the growth. It's already there
Kimberly: So I want you to think, what am I most proud of from the last six months?
nths." How have you changed? [:
Kimberly: What do you wanna carry into your next season and maybe even expand on?
Kimberly: Just sit for a minute. And if you're in a place, why don't you just put your hand over your heart and just take a deep breath and simply acknowledge yourself. You are a bad mamma jamma
Kimberly: Acknowledge yourself for the things no one saw, the battles you fought that no one knows about, for the tears you've shed, for the healing that you've done, for the courage that you have for just showing up, for continuing. You may not be where you wanna be yet, but take a moment to appreciate this truth.
