The Illusion of Progress

Just going through the motions is never enough

Photo by mauro paillex on Unsplash

You think you at getting better at your job, your hobby, your sport but…

You probably aren’t.

There is a human tendency to equate time invested with actual progress but that’s a fallacy.

Once you acquire a certain level of proficiency you reach a plateau, you congratulate yourself and then become complacent.

After that, you become worse.

A person with 20 years of experience is most likely to be worse at his job than someone who’s only done it for a year.

When you don’t grow, you shrink.

This happens for a number of reasons:

• Complacency. After you have reached your plateau, there is a tendency to draw back, to switch off and coast along
• Lack of awareness. You might think that after so many years doing the same job you have become good at it but, have you measured it? Is there any progress? Are you stretching your mind on a regular basis?. If you are not struggling, you are not learning.
• Resistance to learning. Learning is hard and the mind reacts to it negatively. It’s easier to hide in the familiar and to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
• Habits. Once you develop a…