Quality > Quantity

It's about the how

In the list of subjects that I am asked to treat, I often receive the same request.

“I have been working on myself for several months, I make a lot of effort and I have the impression that nothing is moving. What can I do?”

As I said in my previous posts, I’ve been in the self-improvement loop for a few years. This feeling of not moving forward while making efforts: I know it.

I’ve even spent years doing things that didn’t really matter. This feeling of weariness about the fact it doesn’t work no matter how hard i try, been there, done that. 

From these years of trying, I’ve learned three lessons that are key for anyone who is on this quest for a better life.

There are traps along the road and if you don’t avoid them, you can be defeated and give up while you may not be far from where you deserve to be. 

1) Growth is not linear

You can spend a year doing something. The feeling of pushing the Sysyphus ball all the way up the slope and getting to the top, only to find that you’ve finally come down to the bottom.

Then one continues to push but nothing to make that does not move.
This is often the number one reason why people give up.
The feeling of not moving forward while the efforts continue.
It’s very difficult to talk about these things because each situation will be unique.

One situation may be stubbornness with methods that don’t work. 
Imagine hitting a nail everyday but without enough power. 
You could hit the nail all your life, you will never pin anything down. 
And many people hit their nails relentlessly every day.
They think they’re making a difference, but they’re either hitting it wrong or without enough power.

The result: the nail doesn’t move and it’s the status quo even though they felt they were trying.

That’s why whatever your quest, you have to follow your metrics carefully.
Use a scientific method to know where you stand.
Check your growth every week, every month.

Compare and you can see:

- if your routine is working
- if your efforts are sufficient
- which efforts are paying off

If you are just doing without ever analyzing. 
It will never work. 
It would be like a sailor trying to sail with a strong headwind. 
When he could use that same wind to push him.

In summary:

- Track your efforts
- If there is still enough growth compared to the average, continue until you reach the inflection point

What is the inflection point?

It is the point where less effort will pay off much more.
If at the beginning of your adventure, you have to make a lot of effort to earn little. The longer you do it, the more the curve will reverse. Efforts compound and at some point, less effort brings the maximum: you win.

It seems to not move until it rocket.

2) Your efforts are not enough

I have an example I like to use. There are people who work much harder than you and me. Who spend days sweating for low wages. This proves one thing: the amount of effort does not correlate with the results.

The world is changing and so is the way it works. You need to focus on the tasks that really move your life forward.

It’s not about how much you try. It’s how you do it.

I have a friend who can’t lose weight even with exercise.
She does hour-long sessions and is exhausted.
Analyzing her session: it’s not nearly enough.
She lacks intensity and with more intensity, she could work out less.

In addition, she is negating her small gains by uncontrolled eating. Because she is exercising, she allows herself to eat snacks and high-calorie meals, thinking that her one-hour session every three day is enough. 

She works out several times a week and gains weight.

Sometimes it feels like you’re making an effort, but it’s not done well.
Or poor choices negate all your gains.

The result of the math: you balance or worse, you backslide, pure self sabotage.

That’s why you need to track your performance religiously.

 → You see what works
 → You see what doesn’t work

And if it’s not working, understand why it’s not working. 

Another friend who wanted to grow one of his accounts on a social network. The quality of his content was good but his branding was a disaster.

His growth started when he changed and knew how to position himself.

His main problem: his own pride that prevented him to see that he had a poor branding.
I don’t blame him, I myself have often sinned the same. 

Another little story.
I know a person, who makes a good living.
His business is about: one product, only one.
He found his winner, he now focuses on increasing his reach.
It’s up to you to find your winning efforts.
Eliminate your losers.
Find out why it’s not working.
Perfect the winners.
Replicate them.

3) You have to increase the intensity

Finding your winners is good, but if you don’t want to be stuck in the loop for months or even years, you have to increase the intensity of your winning efforts.

If you really want to make things happen, this is the only way to achieve exponential growth. Once you’ve found the tasks that boost your growth, focus on those.

The final equation for success would be

Quality of effort + no self-sabotage + intensity + daily iteration = growth and success.

It’s not enough to work on your dreams every day. 
You have to have an iron will + scientific analysis of everything you do.

If you’re trying hard and nothing is moving forward: I hope you find some answers in this post.

This post completes my previous post on discipline and we close an arc on this subject.

I’ll come back sunday with something else.
Till, wish you a great week.