Hello👋🏽
How are you doing? I hope life has been treating you well.
I am fine. Like really good. My days have been filled with yielding and leaning more into God. Also, It was amazing to hear from you last week. It warmed my heart to read from you. It is good to know that we are discovering ourselves in this journey called Life😊
I am super super happy to write to you today. To think that I almost forgot to write but Holyspirit reminded me😌
Anyhoo, today I will be sharing something that I discovered in September and it changed my perspective about process and progress. So let’s dive in✨
Sharing on process and progress generally is something I love. I find it intriguing when people tell stories of their journey about anything at all. Beyond the fame, excitement, and outcome of anything at all. I can sit for long hours listening to you share your story because I enjoy it. Asides this, being able to introspect and share about your journey can help you see how far you have come and even motivate others.
In September, I read one of my favourite books I have always wanted to read since 2020, Atomic Habits by James Clear. Among the many lessons I learnt, one really struck and stuck with me.
James was sharing on what progress is really like. To him, progress with anything at all involves many actions that build up your potential to unlock a new level of performance. It involves a pattern which applies to many things around us. For instance, you can’t see a Bamboo tree in the first five years as it develops extensive root systems underground. But within six weeks, it explodes ninety feet into thin air and you begin wonder where and how this tree grew tall and huge.
Relating this to our lives, whenever we venture into any quest, let’s say you start learning a skill or cultivating a habit, or you begin an entry level role. At this early stage of whatever you venture into, there is a valley of disappointment. This is the part some of us do not want to face. We expect our progress to be in a linear fashion. You start learning a skill or anything at all, three weeks in you believe you should have gotten the hang of all there is to know about it. And when it does not seem like it, you become frustrated in the first week, or into the months of learning it.
It appears to you as if you are slacking or that you are not cut out for that particular role. I can relate 100% to this because during the ASUU strike I started learning a skill and it was frustrating. I was tired. I would cry my eyes out because I felt everyday I showed up at my desk to practice yet I was not making a headway. Looking back now, I want to laugh at myself for how I cried on those days. Like I am better than when I started. But those days were the rocky times😂
However, what I did not know was that those days were the hallmark of a compounding process. The valleys of disappointment I faced whenever I kept practicing yet I seemed to forget or I felt completely lost in what I was doing were just compounding into the outcome I desired –to be good at my skill.
Moreover, in your new venture it is possible you want to quit. There were days I wanted to quit. Infact, I stopped practicing for 3 weeks. Lmao😂 I was running away from failure. You see it might be that you start learning and you see a few changes. But youthere is no tangible result and you decide to stop and think that maybe that particular thing is not just for you.
When you stop, it is possible that you may let a good opportunity pass you by. Therefore, to avoid missing opportunities God has positioned for you, you will need to persist long enough to break through. James referred to this point of persistence till you break through as a Plateau of Latent Potential.
Your plateau of latent potential is the gap between what you think should happen and then what actually happens. You think you have practiced for so many months and as a result you should be good at what you are learning. Meanwhile you are not as good as what you you thought you will be. However, the truth is there is still so much work to be done behind the curtains of your desired outcome. What you should know is that all your effort is not a waste. It is being stored. They eventually compound to your desired outcome. Take this example, an ice cube begins to melt at thirty two degrees. However, when the room is still 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 degrees nothing happens until the 32 degrees.
You tip the scale once you are able to break through that plateau of latent potential. But you will need to continue putting in the work and choosing to show up even when it seems as if you are not making any progress. There is no overnight success. But only countless efforts that eventually make the success.
When you breakthrough you look like ‘an overnight success’ to others. People see your results and know nothing about the process. But you know what your process was/is like. So you don’t focus on the outcome alone but also your process when telling your story. You know your small beginnings eventually make up the big outcomes.
Never forget to add patience to your process because you will need a lot of it. Relaxx! Take it easy. No matter the weeks or months of hardwork just know you have to stick to it long enough to survive the plateau of latent potential before you eventually become your outcome.
In this new week, I hope you remember that progress is not in a linear fashion. Don’t be too focused on the outcome that you ignore your journey. God does not involve in wasted efforts as He can be trusted with your process.
I leave you with these few words for this week
Your progress is like a flower, cultivate it one day at a time.
I wish you a great week✨
All my love + everything nice🫶🏽
The Purple Girl.