Two common ways of sensing progress are numbers and narratives. Numbers include statistics of speed, ratings and efficiencies. Narratives include stories of early wins, achievements and recoveries.
Progress can be conscious or unconscious.
In conscious progress, we know our numerical and narrative impacts. We are clear what kinds of numbers and narratives most represent progress. In unconscious progress, we are actually making progress but don't know it because we aren't measuring for it or extracting awareness from our experiences.
One way to become more conscious of progress is to focus more on lead than lag performance indicators. Lead indicators are cause; lag indicators are effect. When we reflect on why we make progress as effect, we make it possible to become more aware of the causal conditions. We make more conscious progress.