You’re Not Behind—You’re Just Seeing the Highlight Reel

Here’s the bit most people won’t say out loud: what you see online is just the highlight reel. It’s the moments when everything lines up—the cropped, filtered, and highly shareable snippets. What you’re missing? The missed deadlines, messy kitchens, sick days, the half-written to-do lists and endless notifications buzzing in the background. Almost all of us are moving forward in less-than-perfect circumstances, whether we admit it or not.

Social networks make this comparison game almost impossible to escape. The second you log on, you’re hit with carefully curated wins that set up these impossible standards. The result? That loop of self-doubt and “I’m falling behind” thinking that can be tough to break out of. And it’s not just in your head—research published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology shows that more time on social media is closely tied to increased feelings of envy and falling behind. It’s all the more reason to keep a critical eye on what you’re absorbing online.

Let’s pause for a moment—this is where embracing progress in chaos connects directly to building a growth mindset and resilient leadership. If you find this perspective helpful, my newsletter dives even deeper into practical strategies for thriving amid uncertainty.

The Myth of Perfect Conditions

I want to pause here because this is where things usually go sideways for high-achievers: the myth of perfect conditions. It’s one of the stickiest traps out there—and social media only pours fuel on that fire. Everywhere you look, you see highlights: the wins, not the wobbles. It’s so easy to believe that real productivity only happens when everything aligns—your calendar’s clear, your workspace is spotless, your mind is free from personal distractions. But if we’re honest? That almost never happens.

Most of us spend way too long waiting for everything to be just right. The result? Delay after delay. You might find yourself endlessly prepping—rearranging your desk (again), researching the next perfect app, tinkering with another system—anything but actually starting. And every time you compare your behind-the-scenes reality to someone else’s edited highlight reel, that sense of being behind just gets heavier.

This line of thinking feeds perfectionism and imposter syndrome. When all you see are other people’s best moments, your own messy progress starts to feel totally inadequate. I’ve watched this play out so many times with competitive high-achievers: objectivity disappears as they scroll through feeds full of peer accolades and new launches. The more they compare, the smaller they feel. Before long, creative paralysis sets in and nothing feels good enough to share.

But here’s what I know for sure: scratch beneath any success story—any at all—and you’ll find false starts, rough drafts, and unfinished business. The myth of perfect conditions isn’t just misleading; it actively blocks real progress.

That’s why I always encourage applying the ‘good enough’ principle: instead of chasing flawless execution, focus on doing just enough to move forward today. This approach is central in agile development and creative work alike—it keeps momentum alive and stops analysis paralysis from stealing your progress.

Progress in Chaos: Real-Life Wins

Let’s get honest about what progress actually looks like for most people. Forget those glossy narratives for a minute. Progress isn’t neat or Instagrammable most days. Sometimes it looks like waking up to a feverish child and still carving out fifteen minutes to write a paragraph or review a pull request. It might mean juggling laundry with deadlines or letting a few plates drop so you can focus where it matters most. That’s not failure—that’s simply how life unfolds.

Want proof? Take J.K. Rowling: she wrote much of the first Harry Potter book while raising her daughter solo and facing serious financial stress. Her story is a reminder that big achievements often emerge from chaos—not from perfectly orchestrated circumstances.

If things haven’t gone according to plan for you lately—if deadlines slipped or plans unraveled—you’re not alone, and you’re not failing. In my experience, failure isn’t final—it’s feedback. Each misstep teaches you something for next time, if you let it. That mindset shift turns every imperfect attempt into a stepping stone instead of a setback.

The stories that really stick with us aren’t about flawlessness; they’re about resilience amid messy circumstances. Whether it’s a developer fixing bugs between family interruptions or an entrepreneur building something new after hours, meaningful work happens not despite chaos—but because we keep showing up in the middle of it all.

The Playbook: Tiny Habits for Big Results

So how do you keep moving forward when your days just won’t cooperate? Here’s where most people stumble: waiting for some magical window of uninterrupted time before they start anything meaningful. If there’s one thing I’ve learned (the hard way), it’s this—the window rarely opens on its own.

Instead, momentum comes from tiny habits—small actions you can repeat even when life is chaotic.

Tiny Habits® is a behavior design method from Stanford professor BJ Fogg (his book “Tiny Habits” is worth every page). His method boils down to breaking larger goals into bite-sized behaviors—things you can do in just minutes each day.

Pair that with Charles Duhigg’s ‘cue-routine-reward’ loop from “The Power of Habit”: pick a simple trigger (your cue), follow it with your tiny routine (the action), then reward yourself—a stretch, a song—whatever keeps you coming back for more.

Don’t demand heroics or grand gestures here—lower the bar for action so far down that you can’t help but step over it. Write one paragraph instead of pushing for an essay draft. Review one pull request instead of trying to clear your whole backlog at once. Learn a single concept rather than finishing an entire online course overnight. Alone these micro-moves may seem trivial, but over time they add up like drops in a bucket.

James Clear makes a similar point in “Atomic Habits”: progress may look slow at first—but habits act like compound interest; small increments lead to exponential results over time. This becomes especially crucial when life feels unpredictable or overwhelming—even modest efforts accumulate into meaningful momentum across weeks and months.

If there’s one thing I hope sticks from this section, let it be this: done beats perfect every single time. Let go of polishing every draft or waiting until you “feel ready.” Progress in chaos means learning to see imperfection as a feature—not a flaw.

And these aren’t just productivity hacks—they’re survival strategies for anyone balancing multiple demands (which is basically all of us). Stack up enough tiny wins and suddenly you’ll find yourself moving forward even during life’s messiest seasons. If you’re looking for more practical ways to keep momentum going, check out these 5 proven ways to reduce stress and boost productivity without waiting for the perfect moment.

Start Where You Are

If there’s only one message I hope you take away from this post, let it be this: don’t wait for life to settle down before taking steps toward your goals. Momentum matters far more than perfection ever will.

Research backs this up (and my own experience echoes it): starting with small actions doesn’t just boost motivation—it actually reduces overwhelm and makes it more likely that you’ll keep going over time.

So here’s your nudge: pick one thing—anything—you can do today to move closer to your bigger ambitions. Write that awkward first sentence on a new project. Send an email to a potential collaborator. Sketch your idea on a napkin if that’s all you have time for right now. The aim isn’t flawlessness; it’s simply movement.

Progress in chaos doesn’t mean lowering your standards—it means honoring your real-life constraints and choosing action anyway. Every imperfect step you take is proof that you’re moving forward on your own terms—even if nobody sees it but you.

So what’s one goal you’ve been putting off while waiting for perfect conditions? Really think about it—this is where things tend to shift for most people. Start today, even if it feels messy and unfinished.

Real progress doesn’t happen inside an idealized bubble; it happens right here in the beautiful messiness of everyday life.

Remember this: every small effort contributes to your unique journey. As you learn to embrace progress amid chaos, let each imperfect step become proof of your resilience—and an open invitation to keep moving forward, no matter how tangled the path may seem.