When you set a goal, you also set a timeline, and inherently a pace.
Maybe if your goal is a 10k run, your pace for the first 3k might predict when you’ll finish.
But for most other goals, the initial pace is slow.
Extrapolating your initial pace can be worrisome
When writing a thesis or a major report, if you extrapolate the time it took to write the first three chapters as the time for ten chapters, you might worry if you’ll ever submit it. (Especially if you, like me, threw out your third chapter and felt you went backwards.)
When starting a business, if you look at the time it took to get the first three big clients, you may worry you’ll be out of business before you reach ten.
Reminder that progress is rarely linear
I want to remind you that progress is rarely linear, though we often expect it to be.
I got this reminder when I set a goal that ten months after surgery for a broken leg I wanted to be on curling ice, playing a game.
My initial pace healing from a broken leg
My starting point toward my goal was putting weight on my left foot. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t stand up yet alone walk.
I expected to incrementally go further, faster, and more evenly between both legs, a little bit every day. If I had been off the leg for three months, then I should be back to handling a simple walk surely within three months – right?
After three months I was walking around my block, with rest breaks, and actively using a cane.
My distance and speed weren’t increasing. And an app that measured my reliance on the cane was showing I’d only dropped from 100% to 75% which, if linear, meant I’d have the cane for another 9 months. Yikes.
My later pace of recovery
But four weeks later, I quickly dropped down below 50%. And just a few weeks after that, the cane was in a closet.
My recovery curve was exponential. I had to rebuild muscles and nerves and stamina. Once most of that was ready, I suddenly saw the “results” I was looking for.
(And I did get on the ice at the ten month mark, but that was the start of a whole new growth curve!)
The bamboo analogy
A great analogy for this mindset is bamboo.
It spends years building a root system, hidden from view.
Once its roots are in place, sprouts appear above ground. And then they shoot up meters into the air in a matter of weeks!
Allow yourself to prepare for an amazing rise
If your goal is a certain job level or a gold medal, allow yourself to expect an exponential growth curve. Trust that you are still moving toward it early on, preparing for an amazing rise.
So here’s an exercise to strengthen this mindset:
- Today, list some of your goals.
- Then, identify one that sparks a sense of impatience in you. Perhaps it’s not happening soon enough.
- Through the week, put a little extra effort toward that goal while also reminding yourself that the cumulative effect of the effort will be revealed later.
- At the end of the week, notice any new ways to see progress, and observe any changes in how you feel about the journey toward your goal.
