From the moment we are born, the measuring begins.
How quickly we walk.
How early we talk.
How much we weigh.
How well we behave.
There’s always a chart, a milestone, a checklist — a standard someone else has set. We are prodded, praised, or pushed based on how we match up. “On track,” they say. “Meeting expectations.” And just like that, we learn the rules of the game.
In school, the measuring stick only gets longer.
Scores. Grades. Reports. Rankings.
Who’s above average? Who’s behind? Who’s “gifted”? Who needs “intervention”?
Soon, it’s not just the adults measuring us — we begin to measure ourselves. And worse, we measure each other.
We learn to compare.
Smarter. Prettier. Stronger. Funnier.
More popular. More athletic. More “successful.”
And for every winner in this invisible race, there are many who quietly decide they’re not enough.
We leave school — but the measuring doesn’t leave us.
College. University. Work.
Degrees, job titles, salaries, likes, followers, promotions.
Everywhere we turn, it’s a scoreboard. Everyone striving to be seen. To be heard. To prove their worth.
We hustle. Perform. Achieve.
All the while hoping we’re finally “making it.”
But making it where, exactly? And according to who?
Here’s what I’ve come to understand:
When you choose to step away from the measuring — to opt out of the scoreboard life — things change.
When you stop caring what others think,
When you see that their judgments are often more about them than you,
When you accept yourself as you are,
Not “better than”
Not “less than”
But equal to every other human walking this earth —
Then the pressure lifts.
You can breathe.
You no longer need to prove, perform, or pretend.
You get to be.
You get to live a life measured not by numbers or opinions, but by meaning.
You know your own worth, and you don’t need anyone to validate it.
And if we’re going to talk about measuring, then let’s talk about what truly matters.
Because the real measure of any society isn’t how productive it is or how many people it celebrates at the top.
It’s how it treats its most vulnerable.
Children.
Elders.
Those who are grieving, healing, struggling, or simply different.
Those who have been silenced, overlooked, or forgotten.
If a society fails to make space for its most tender voices, it’s not a success — no matter how loud it cheers for progress.
At A Positive Start CIC, this is the heart of our work.
We’re not here to push more measuring sticks into people’s lives.
We’re here to offer something different.
We believe that learning, development, and growth should never come at the cost of compassion.
We believe in creating safe, person-centred spaces where being human is enough — where your lived experience is not only valid but valuable.
That’s why we created REAL CPD:
- Regulated – rooted in care, not control
- Ethical – prioritising integrity, not image
- Accessible – open to all, not reserved for the privileged
- Lived Experience Led – because truth is often found in the story, not the system
This is not about climbing ladders or chasing validation.
It’s about reconnecting with what matters most.
How we show up for ourselves.
How we impact each other.
How we hold space for healing in a world that so often rushes past it.
It’s not about being “the best.”
It’s about being real. Whole. Present. Enough.
When I let go of the external measuring — and embraced a deeper, quieter truth within myself — I discovered something powerful:
This is the measure of me.
And just maybe,
It’s the measure of us, too.