At the age of 19, I found myself in a rather imperfect situation. I was a single mom, unwed, and unhappy. Things didn’t work out with my high school boyfriend the way I had planned, so after a failed shotgun wedding, I returned to college with a baby in tow. That ushered in a new season for me.

New seasons can be scary…or beautiful, depending on how you look at them. The beauty of a new season is that you don’t truly know what you’re stepping into, and that “unknowing” is what, for many of us, allows us to keep pushing forward even when things get tough. We simply don’t know that “hard” is ahead of us, so we keep going.

Being a single mom is one of the toughest seasons I’ve ever experienced, but second to that is starting my own business – and that’s a season I stepped into a little over 10 years ago. Raising a child is a lot like building a business. Both require constant attention and love. Both consume most of your daily thoughts. Both have massive amounts of responsibility. And both can wreak havoc on your self-confidence when you feel that you’re failing in your role.

Take a second and think about a role you’ve held for the last 10 years. Maybe you’ve been a mom, a spouse, a caregiver, a working professional. Now think about how much has changed over the span of a decade. Even if the role hasn’t changed – I bet you have. And I bet there are moments that make you cringe with embarrassment.

A friend once told me, “If you’re not looking back with embarrassment, you’re not growing.” Those cringy moments are a good measuring stick for how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown. In this reflection practice, I encourage you to look back and look past the imperfections. Instead, look for the “perfect-for-me” moments. These moments have made you who you are today.

10 years ago, I stepped into a business partnership with two of my best friends. We wanted to revolutionize the fitness industry by creating a fitness experience where everyone was accepted and could find belonging despite age, income, race, gender, values, shape, size, or season of life. We believed certifying instructors was the quickest path to impact and transform as many lives as possible, and we hosted our first instructor training in September of 2013. I don’t remember much about that training, but I know it was imperfect.

It was imperfect because it was our first time.
It was imperfect because we didn’t know what we were doing.
And from where I stand today, these imperfections are what made the journey so very perfect-for-us.

Had we been focused on the pursuit of perfection – the perfect training content, the perfect venue, the perfect trainees, the perfect timing – we would never have started. Had we been focused on getting everything “right” – we probably would have gotten it all wrong.

Instead, here I stand 10 years later:
A mom to three wonderful girls whom I adore.
A job that I absolutely love.
Thousands of certified REFIT® instructors across the globe.
Immeasurable lives transformed through REFIT®.

These things happened not because of perfect skills, intellect, or plans. But because I allowed the imperfections to grow me… not stop me.

Wherever you are in your journey and whatever this new season might be, embrace as many imperfect moments as you can. You’ll look back with gratitude for the season of growth and grace for the road ahead.

Reflect on your imperfect beginning:
What did your “beginning” look like?
In what ways have you grown since your beginning?
How is this current season growing you right now?

| Keep Reading: Imperfect Endings by Catherine Ballas >>