Progress is Not Linear

Progress is not something that can be a guaranteed result as a product of any specific unit of work. Progress is not linear. Progress takes time and oftentimes there are very minimal signs of improvement for long periods before an explosion occurs. The greatest progress occurs over time, after following a commitment to doing the little things right with meticulous care.

I have previously written about the idea of just starting a new project, task, or goal. In that newsletter, I said that generally when you start something, you are bad at it. As you remain consistent you can rapidly improve. Today’s topic centers itself around the time when rapid improvement stalls. The euphoria of seemingly doubling your knowledge or skill on a daily or weekly schedule is over. You have reached a plateau with the pursuit you are chasing. These scenarios are where real progress can occur, but will not occur unless commitment and determination are viewed in a sacred way.

Kobe Bryant is revered as being one of the best basketball players ever while also being one of the hardest workers. He would routinely work out in the early hours of the morning before anyone else was awake. He also famously started his workouts with the basic fundamentals of basketball. Chest passes, basic dribbling drills, and layups were repeated thousands and thousands of times. His reasoning was they were the foundational skills upon which everything else built itself. His work ethic combined with his talent made him one of the greatest to play the sport. His commitment to daily consistency and effort, focusing on the smallest of details, paid off for him in the long run and over his Hall of Fame career.

I use Kobe Bryant as an example because I want to display where real progress occurs. He spent years crafting his skills and he reaped the benefits during his career. He did not spend a couple of days a month, or a couple of hours a week, seemingly every single day he was working to improve. In applying his lessons to my own life, I try and look at things with a long-term time horizon. With my own goals, I recognize what I am aiming for years from now. I try to realize that I will have bad days, I will have setbacks, and I will feel like I am not improving, but over the long run, I know I am. Progress is not linear. It is in these setbacks and periods of stagnation that I drive harder the next day. I am trying harder and harder to create a life where I fall in love with the journey and continue to push forward, one step closer to that far-away payoff. The push for progress is a journey not having a clear path or a clear destination, it is seemingly about taking one day at a time, repeatedly. From there, you will grow.