One of the quiet doubts that surfaces in many people’s minds after a few weeks or months of engaging with a new practice is this – how do I know it’s working? The question itself is understandable. We live in a results-driven world. People expect measurable change, clear outcomes, fast feedback. And when a practice doesn’t immediately make you feel lighter, calmer or clearer, the doubt creeps in.
But evaluating the impact of a practice isn’t always straightforward. Not because there’s no effect, but because the most important shifts are often subtle, internal and cumulative. A single moment of insight might not arrive every time you sit in meditation, but over time you may find yourself reacting differently to stress, softening in your relationships, or noticing patterns you’d once ignored. That is the work unfolding.
It’s important to let go of the expectation that a practice must always create a dramatic emotional effect. Feeling good is not the only measure of progress. Some of the most transformational practices may feel uncomfortable or even dull at times. They are slowly building new patterns, gently unravelling old ones, or laying groundwork for breakthroughs that haven’t yet arrived.
Consider a gardener planting seeds. Nothing sprouts for days. There’s no visible growth. But that doesn’t mean the process has failed – it means the roots are establishing themselves. Similarly, your practice may be working beneath the surface long before it becomes evident.
The effects of a consistent practice often show up in the in-between moments – in how you pause before reacting, in how you breathe through frustration, in how you notice your own stories playing out instead of becoming them. These small shifts are often more valuable than a moment of clarity during the practice itself.
It’s also worth remembering that the value of a practice can shift depending on what you’re going through. During periods of high stress, a practice might serve as an anchor or a refuge. During more stable times, it might become a space for insight or creativity. During healing phases, it might bring up discomfort or emotion that needs to be seen. All of these are signs it’s working. The practice is meeting you where you are.
It may also be working if you feel some resistance to it. That’s not always a sign to abandon it. Sometimes resistance comes up right before a breakthrough or right when a deeper part of you is being touched. The key is to discern whether the resistance is protective avoidance or genuine misalignment. That level of self-awareness can only be developed over time.
The question, then, becomes less about whether the practice is working and more about what it is revealing. What are you learning about yourself through it? Are you becoming more aware of your patterns, your moods, your energy? Are you more honest with yourself? Are you seeing the subtle connections between thoughts, emotions and actions? Are you slowly building the capacity to sit with discomfort instead of running from it?
Practices don’t always give us what we want, but often they give us what we need. And sometimes the greatest value comes not from what the practice does to us, but from how we show up to it. The discipline, the willingness, the consistency – these cultivate strength, awareness and trust in ourselves.
Over time, you’ll notice the shift. It may not look like a spiritual awakening. It may look like a deeper breath, a clearer choice, a more honest answer. It may look like being kinder to yourself after a hard day. These things are not small. They are the markers of a path walked with intention.
So if you’re asking yourself whether the practice is working, ask instead – what’s changing in me that I might not have noticed yet? What’s becoming softer? Clearer? Stronger? More stable? What am I now able to sit with that I used to run from? Let your answers be slow, honest and spacious. That’s where the truth is. That’s where the real work is happening.
