When Your Brain Demands Immediate Results
Progress is not always noticeable..
Have you ever undertaken a new challenge and been frustrated by your seeming lack of progress?
Sure, you have. We’ve all been in the situation where you think you aren’t moving fast enough, whether it’s in your business, at the gym, or in line at Dunkin'.
The reality is that you are most likely making progress in your business, at the gym, and in general (although I can’t speak to Dunkin').
The issue is that not all progress is apparent, and this can be a tough pill to swallow for hard workers, perfectionists, anxious people, depressed people, and entrepreneurs alike. Or, if you’re like me….you have all five of those traits, which means your brain regularly demands immediate results.
The hard worker in me says, “But I put in so much work. Why am I not seeing results?”
The perfectionist in me says, “Maybe I just need to try harder, then I will see results.”
The anxious person in me says, “If I don’t see results soon, I should quit.”
The depressed person in me says, “I knew I couldn’t do it.”
And the entrepreneur in me says, “Damn, progress better come soon—I need to pay my bills!” 😆
Can you relate to any of these? Or perhaps, you’re lucky, like me, and can relate to all of those objections?
Regardless, your mind has likely convinced you that because progress isn’t apparent, it isn’t happening.
And sometimes it just takes a reality check to show you progress is happening.
That’s exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago. We were having a team LPC meeting and talking about content we could share on our upcoming topic: thought leadership.
You know me; I love to recycle my content, so I asked Amanda Lane to look for some clips from a LinkedIn Live session I did in February 2024 on thought leadership.
Dutifully, she found the recording and pulled the clips for my review.
I clicked play, and my jaw dropped.
I cringed. I audibly gasped.
“Oh. My. God.” (In my best Janice from Friends voice).
I was rambling and saying nonsensical things. It was embarrassing, awkward, and unpolished. I'll defer to you to find it if you really want, but I can't in good conscience share it.
“Nope!” I proclaimed to no one but myself.
I slammed the laptop shut and got my phone out. I prepped myself and my desk for recording.
In less than 20 minutes, I recorded a quick tips video about thought leadership that was far better than what I had done almost 1.5 years ago. (I will share that one.)
As minor as this moment was in the grand scheme of my life and my business, it was such an eye-opening experience. Sometimes our progress is happening right in front of our faces, and we don’t even realize it. Kind of like when you were a kid and you didn’t feel like you were growing, but of course, you were. (Unless you’re like me and stopped growing around 11, but you get the idea).
So, next time you beat yourself up for not making any progress, take a moment to remember that you probably are; it may not be apparent.
