Slow Progress is Progress

If there is one thought I could magically remove from my clients minds, it is this - “I’m not doing enough”.  You see, our brains are wired with a negativity bias and “all or nothing” thinking is a TRAP that keeps people stuck.  

The fact that you believe your slow progress “isn’t enough” is slowing you down even more…  

Here is a typical example:

A client, let’s call her Allison, decides that she want to get more revenue.  She gets clear on her fastest path to revenue being talking to people in her network.  Every time she connects with people in her network, a few clients come on board.  So she sets out to call and email her work contacts.  About a week into this progress, she only receives one message back.  She begins questioning the success of this progress.   After all, one out of ten outreaches, isn’t the best conversion rate…  or is it?  She starts to get in her own way, telling herself she “isn’t good enough” and she “isn’t doing enough”.  

Meanwhile, she stops contacting people.  She does have the one proposal out, and the sale is pending, but she is beating herself up about the success rate of her efforts.  A month goes by while she is feeling self-doubt, calling herself a failure.  Right about now, she is thinking of changing the strategy. Maybe social media is a better route?  So she begins researching that instead.  Once she finally starts to post on social media, another month has passed. 

One out of ten responses isn’t looking so bad ​​after all, now that she looks at the calendar, and realizes two months have passed.  If you do the math, if she would have kept going at her original rate, she’d have 8 new clients by now…  But instead, she has the one.  

The exact same scenario happens daily with people’s exercise routines, nutrition habits, even hydration…  We don’t see BIG RESULTS instantly and we call that failing.  Unfortunately, we are our toughest critics and the layer of guilt and doubt that we put on top of these shortcomings sabatoges us.

So what can you do about it?  

Move your attention to the progress that you HAVE made.  

Notice and celebrate the wins that you HAVE accomplished.  

And KEEP GOING (even in the face of resistance and your inner critic).

Stop layering on shame and guilt (catch yourself in those mental thought patterns).  

Lastly, track your progress.  What gets measured, gets improved.  

Why?  Because where your attention goes, energy flows and if you keep your attention on your progress instead of your minor fear & setbacks (and they are minor in the grand scheme of things), overtime you will reach your goals.  It just takes consistency and a little mind-set management so you don’t slip back into “all or nothing” thinking!