You can be happy with your progress and not like the results at the same time. That's where I am currently.

I know I'm making major strides in these events and in my fitness. I can see that. I can feel that. Yet, I know I'm not where I want to be. Holding that dichotomy doesn't need to be painful. It's just me being honest with myself.

It would be one thing if I dismiss all my progress because I don't have the exact result I'm chasing. That's where people get it wrong. They hold the end result as the only measure and not as one of many things to look at for the existence of progress.