Percentages Over Absolutes

Framing and perspective of the facts are a very important part of how we interpret the world around us. What type of framing or perspectives we have tell the story of what is happening and how we personally feel. They can shape our emotions to be either positive or negative. They give us a reason to either continue pushing forward or feel lost. We can shape our perspectives by choosing to live in the percentage world instead of dealing with absolutes. They are based on the same information, and tell the same story, just are shown differently. The difference in their appearance leads to a different feeling about the story told. In cases where percentages are used over absolutes, they can trick our minds into having a renewed sense of confidence and belief to keep going.

A real-life example where percentages can shape belief is in this newsletter’s metrics. In the beginning, and even now, the follower numbers are small. I went from 0 subscribers to 5, then 10, and now currently over 50. If I view these numbers, these people who consume the perspectives given, in absolutes, writing for over 100 days, and having less than 100 subscribers could be demoralizing. Daily effort to see minimal changes on a day-to-day basis could be hard to continue if the absolute perspective was used. In the beginning, numbers will be small, that is expected.
By using percentages, the same story is told, just with a different view. Going from 5 to 10 subscribers was not simply 5 more readers, it was a 100% increase. 10 to 50 is a 500% increase. The percentages shape the same story to be much more motivating. Each day of effort leads to x percentage of growth.

This is a personal example and is hopefully one that can be revisited after hundreds of more postings of this newsletter. This is only the beginning of the tale these writings will show. The perspective to keep going is fueled by the percentages. This sort of perspective can be applied to nearly any pursuit we are going after. You did not lose 1 pound last week, you lost 10% of your goal. You did not read 10 pages of the book, you read 5% of the whole book. Percentages help show tangible progress as if it were part of the whole. Stack days of success and see the pie chart continue to fill itself. The same story is told but the feeling the story promotes is the difference between continuing on or quitting. Shape the story so you keep going.