Self-improvement is less setting off down a path than swinging on a pendulum.

We start at the extreme. We spend too much time on Netflix, or our anger is out of control. A lot, or none at all. We don’t know what the best version of ourselves looks like, but we know it’s not here.

So we head in the opposite direction. Our pendulum swings across, and in the momentum and excitement of improvement, we go too far. Now we work all day or don’t stand up for ourselves.

The other extreme we learn is no better. So then, it must be somewhere in between — a balance.

Seeing the spectrum in full, we swing our pendulum back where we came — aiming somewhere in between. Nevertheless, we overshoot the mark, but this time feels a little closer.

Back and forth like this, we go. Learning and triangulating as we go. With each swing, the extremes soften — some work, some play. We learn what it means to be in balance, and the goal becomes more distinct and closer with each pass.

Our pendulum may swing back and forth like this for months, years, or even our whole lives. It may never stop turning.

Some days we will feel closer than ever, and the next we may be up at the edges once again. But, as long as we believe we can swing back down, as long as we keep riding and keep searching, we will keep improving. Closer and closer to balance.