Progress is a movement toward a goal or an assumed higher stage. Progress is perceived or not perceived, measurable or immeasurable to the human mind. Instant progress is illusion to the mind yet, this does not mean instant evolution or awakening is impossible. If what you seek is already here, then the revelation can be instantaneous and you need not go anywhere.
For the mind, no short-cuts exist to self-mastery. It is all about effort and struggle. Consider the phrase, ‘As the elevator to your destination is out of order, you are encouraged to take the stairs.’
From another perspective, life is spirit, not matter. The spiritual is not quantifiable. You feel the way. Any sense of movement is more than spatial. It is successive in its own way. So, you become what you perceive yourself to be by way of your choices. That is universal law of polarity. Imagine a magnet. How does it feel? Notice conditions and relations you attract. Each thought has implications.
Reflect on school days. You may think of courses you wished were over before they started. Your mind may still continue this trend as it wanders to job prospects and thinks about promotion before you get the skills. The mind focuses on the future. It hijacks your attention, triggers stress and impatience.
On another level, speed has nothing to do with spiritual progress. As you step outside conditioning, you realize the universe shapes your conditions based on how it feels the vibration of your progress.
The time sensed in the heart is only about one thing: how long it takes to be a vibrational match with what you desire. This reality is all about energy. As you evolve to be more open to receiving of the flow and go with it, you raise awareness, sense conditions and inner power differently. The universe resonates as you reach milestones. What manifests tells its own story. Read between the chapters.
In essence, the human mind judges progress based on physical aspects and its logic. The human mind is unaware of spiritual considerations or does not ascertain energy flow within. Where is your focus of attention? Notice how more than one thing is going on and you choose how and what to see.