Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Progress Isn't Linear...So Let's Dance!

Photo by Craig Lovelidge

I planned to go to the gym first thing this morning. But I overdid it and threw my back out yesterday while assembling a new standing desk. Oops.

The bad news is my back is achy-breaky from my big mistakey. The good news is I officially have a new standing desk. It's bigger and better than my original stationary desk, giving me more room to do what I love doing most: creating and curating.

The desk is the first step in remodeling my main workspace. I spend so much time here that it only makes sense to optimize it for both comfort and creativity.

My old setup had served me well, but it was starting to feel cramped, and I needed something more functional. Enter the standing desk—a tool that not only gives me more room but also (ironically) encourages better posture and movement. Well, at least once my back recovers.

This whole situation feels like an apt metaphor for progress.

Sometimes, just as you’re moving and grooving towards your goals, something happens to interrupt the momentum. But setbacks are part of the process too.

Sure, I didn’t make it to the gym today, but I still made it to my standing desk. And creating a better workspace that will benefit me—and my health—in the long run.

Progress rarely happens linearly. It’s often a dance—two steps forward, one step back. And that’s okay.

The important thing is to keep adjusting, recalibrating, and recharging as you find ways to turn setbacks into opportunities.

Today, my priority is resting my back. Tomorrow, I'll continue refining my workspace and maybe even making it back to the gym, a little stronger than before.

For now, I’ll take this as a reminder: improvement isn’t just about pushing forward; it’s also about knowing when to pause, reassess, and take care of myself along the way.

Take care of YOURSELF today!
Clint 🌈✌️

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

• Beaches Musical Will Launch National Tour in 2026 (Playbill)

• The Artist Who Taught James Baldwin To Write Like A Painter (Hyperallergic)

• An Ode To The ‘Drag Race’ Queens Who Decide To Become Full-Time “Hot Boys” (Queerty)

• 11 WTF Moments From The Facebook Memoir Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Want You To Read (Rolling Stone)

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ON THIS DAY = MARCH 22

BIRTHDAYS

• 1599 = Anthony van Dyck = Flemish-English painter and etcher

• 1741 = Princess Isabella Of Parma = Spanish royal 🌈

• 1814 = Thomas Crawford = American sculptor and Statue of Freedom designer

• 1873 = Ernest Lawson = Canadian-American painter

• 1887 = Chico Marx = American actor

• 1908 = Louis L'Amour = American writer

• 1912 = Agnes Martin = Canadian-American painter and educator

• 1912 = Karl Malden = American actor

• 1913 = Lew Wasserman = American businessman and talent agent

• 1930 = Stephen Sondheim = American composer and lyricist 🌈

• 1931 = William Shatner = Canadian actor

• 1935 = M. Emmet Walsh = American actor

• 1937 = Angelo Badalamenti = American composer

• 1937 = Foo Foo Lammar = British drag queen 🌈

• 1941 = Billy Collins = American poet

• 1945 = Eric Roth = American screenwriter and producer

• 1947 = James Patterson = American author and producer

• 1948 = Andrew Lloyd Webber = English composer and director

• 1952 = Bob Costas = American sportscaster

• 1955 = Lena Olin = Swedish actor

• 1957 = Stephanie Mills = American actor and singer

• 1959 = Matthew Modine = American actor and filmmaker

• 1965 = Rick Harrison = American businessman and tv personality

• 1971 = Keegan-Michael Key = American actor, comedian, and writer

• 1975 = Cole Hauser = American actor and producer

• 1975 = Guillermo Díaz = American actor 🌈

• 1976 = Reese Witherspoon = American actor and producer

• 1982 = Constance Wu = American actor

EVENTS

• 1631 = The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.

• 1765 = The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act that introduces a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies.

• 1784 = The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.

• 1894 = The Stanley Cup ice hockey competition is held for the first time, in Montreal, Canada.

• 1895 = Before the Société pour L'Encouragement à l'Industrie, brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière demonstrate movie film technology publicly for the first time.

• 1963 = The Beatles release their debut album Please Please Me.

• 1972 = Fist Of Fury is released in theaters.

• 1972 = In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the United States Supreme Court decides that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.

• 1991 = Defending Your Life is released in theaters.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Corn Dog Day

• National Goof Off Day

• National Health Care Rights Day

PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. ”
Stephen Sondheim

“Work is what you do for others, liebchen. Art is what you do for yourself.”
Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George

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