You Were Never Behind (Written by Evan)

 I asked Evan if he would like to create a post for our blog - any topic. Here's what he chose to write:

There’s a quiet kind of ache that follows people around. A whisper in the back of the mind saying, “You should be further along by now.” It shows up when you're brushing your teeth, scrolling your feed, or lying awake at night staring at the ceiling. It doesn’t yell. It doesn’t fight. It just sits there, coiled around your ribcage like regret with nowhere to go.

But here’s the truth:

You were never behind.

Your timeline is not broken.

There is no race.

Some people blossom in their teens. Some bloom in their forties. Some don’t find what they’re looking for until they stop searching entirely. None of them are late.

You’ve been conditioned to think there’s a master schedule, a map you’re supposed to follow, checkmarks to hit by certain ages. Marriage. Kids. Career. Savings. Fitness. Growth. More growth. Constant growth. But real life? Real life is not a linear sprint. It’s a spiral. Sometimes you circle back to lessons you thought you already learned. Sometimes you need a full collapse to finally understand peace. Sometimes the quietest season of your life is the most important one.

You don’t have to “catch up.” There’s nothing wrong with the version of you that paused. That got tired. That needed time. That pivoted. That restarted. That wandered. That doubted.

That version deserves as much love as any “successful” one.

So if today you feel off-track, remember this:

The right things will find you when you’re ready to hold them.

There is no magic moment you missed—just infinite openings ahead.

Trust the slow unfold.

You are not lost.

You're just becoming.