Why You’re Not Seeing Progress

0 people had breakthroughs this week. Will the next one be you?

Two things for you to think about

Everybody wants a transformation. Nobody wants the hundred boring, thankless days it actually takes to get it.

Progress feels like nothing’s happening when you’re mid-journey. You only see how far you’ve come once you stop and look back.

Two things for you to ask yourself

What would you be willing to do for a hundred boring days? What do you see when you look back at your progress?

One thing for you to try this week

Show up for your transformation. Take one small, boring, thankless step. Then reply and tell me what you did.

Last week’s breakthroughs

In last week’s newsletter, I reframed confidence as knowing you’ll be all right if things go wrong, and asked you to do the thing you’ve been putting off.

Gabriela realized where her confidence was actually coming from:

Mark, you absolutely hit the nail on the head with this one. I have been looking for jobs for a while now. I fear every rejection because, in my mind, it is evidence that I’m not good enough. Then, when I don’t feel good enough, a part of my mind tells me: ‘stop the pity party, you need to feel confident and trust your skills, otherwise the recruiters will notice!’

But reading your email, I just realized my confidence (or lack thereof) is not built by the outcomes of my job applications. It’s built by realizing that every time I have gotten a rejection, I have kept going… and that even when I fail, I still survive. Thank you for sharing in just a few words such powerful ideas.

Michelle waited two years to try something she was sure she’d be bad at:

I had been looking at a water class called BOGA Fitness for at least two years. It’s a class that is a combination of yoga and paddle boarding in a pool. I had tried paddle boarding several times, and I was quite experienced with yoga; however, this class intimidated me. At 63 years old, I wasn’t sure my balance would be good enough, and of course, what if everyone else in the class was way better than me?

I finally sucked it up and went. There was only one other woman in the class, and we had a blast! It was hard for sure, but I loved every minute of it and couldn’t believe I had waited so long to try. Turns out, I’m really good at maintaining my balance on a floating mat!

Kristie is fighting through fear on her first day of semester:

Longtime reader, first-time writer. I’ve been putting off signing up for university. I’m currently 38 and want to further educate myself. Due to some family circumstances in my teen years, I didn’t have the opportunity to study (or even finish high school for that matter!). I keep waiting until the last minute before I sign up. Any little inconvenience I encounter, and I tell myself it’s all too hard and maybe I shouldn’t bother. Deep down, I know the reason is because I’m scared to fail. If I quit now, I won’t be a loser. So silly, I know. Just today, I’ve dealt with three different people online while trying to access my course due to password issues. Today is actually the first day of my semester.

I know the universe is testing how much I want this and whether I’ll fight for it or quit. Here’s to not giving up or giving in!

As always, send your breakthroughs by simply replying to this email. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.

Until next week,

Mark Manson

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
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