A few days ago, I sat down to write.
I found that I could not. The words and sentences that normally bubbled up easily in my mind lay stubbornly beneath the surface.
We often tell ourselves that every day we practice something, the next day will reveal our progress. This is not how growth works. It’s not how it works in writing, or music, or careers, or health, or the stock market, or relationships.
Not every day is a line moving up. Sometimes, we dip.
And that’s a good thing because:
- Taking a step back (or even backwards), can help us see a bigger picture.
Noticing progress is the rewarding part of making it. The feeling of regression only happens when you have gotten good enough at something to be able to regress.
- Growth is not measured by yesterdays performance (and maybe should not be measured at all)
Consistency is the key, not moments. Moments when an article does well, or we get the good grade, or receive a promotion feel really good, but they are not same moments in which the progress was made. Those moments were mundanely scattered throughout everyday day leading up to the reward. Those little moments of progress and what should be appreciated, not the medal at the end of the race.
- Overcoming before achievement
Nobody is an overnight success, some people just fail enough times to finally make something work all at once. The road to success is full of work zones and speeding tickets. You have to drive through them to get to the end. A bad day at something is just part of paying your dues.
Reveal in bad days and regression but it means you have moved forward far enough to have the room to step back.
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