THE VALLEY of disappointment is a place you find yourself in when you’ve worked hard toward achieving a certain outcome without achieving any tangible results. Being in this place makes us feel sad, disappointed, and hopeless. We feel as though we’ve wasted our time and can’t get ahead in life.
Consistent efforts are never wasted; They accumulate in the background for months or years and only become visible once we break through the plateau of latent potential.
If you’re currently in a situation where you’ve been working on something for a long time (such as a 9-5 exit strategy, if you’re an entrepreneur) without seeing any progress, and would like to reap the fruits of your efforts, you’re in the right place. In this article, I explain how you can make progress feel more than a straight line, rather than an unpredictable one.
Some Great Books on Habits
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The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
Atomic Habits
by James Clear
The Valley of Disappointment and the Plateau of Latent Potential
James Clear, the author of the New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits, states, “We often expect progress to be linear. At the very least, we hope it will come quickly. In reality, the results of our efforts are often delayed. It is not until months or years later that we realize the true value of the previous work we have done.”
Progress, in all areas of life, is non-linear. It can be exponential or take the shape of a sin wave at first, and then turn into a quadratic function. Mathematics aside, the point is that the full value of previous efforts reveals itself at a much later date, often when we least expect it. This is a hard thing for people to accept.
You can have tons of determination in entrepreneurship and work on growing your business for many months, without making any progress.
In a world where we often get rewarded instantly for our work (take video games or social media, for example) we expect our work to pay off immediately, too. There are some ways you can leverage to make your efforts pay off quicker, though. Here are a couple of my favourite ones …
Related: 3 Common Reasons Why Being an Entrepreneur Is Hard (5 min. read)
1. Use a Visual Tracking System
Using a tracking system is a way of rewarding yourself for your work. They’re especially effective for visual people who like building good habits.
You can hang up a calendar on your wall and check off every day you stick with your plan. If you want to read for 10 minutes daily, for example, place your calendar next to your reading chair or bed (or wherever else you do your reading), and cross out the day once you’re finished.
You will accumulate a streak with time and consistency, which gives evidence to the fact that you’ve been making progress (Although it might be invisible for some more time).
Related: 5 Powerful Ways to Muster Up the Courage to Start Your Own Business (3 min. read)
2. Share It With a Friend or Family Member
If you have a strong support system, of people who encourage you and help you focus on your vision, you want to share your efforts with them. Whenever you put in hard work on your goal, tell them what you were able to achieve that day.
However, caution is advised. You want to avoid telling people what you have accomplished before you have put in the work as this can give you a false sense of accomplishment.
Related: Why Getting Ahead in Life is Hard and What You Can Do About It (4 min. read)
Breaking Out of The Valley of Disappointment Comes Down to Mindset
Breaking out of the valley of disappointment comes down to your mindset—the set of attitudes you hold about yourself and the world around you. You must have faith and believe in the fact that your hard work will eventually pay off.
Success is inevitable if you know how to commit to something hold on when the going gets tough.