Why making progress can feel like going nowhere

I got a puzzle out last week for the first time in ages.

And puzzles are just packed with lessons about progress.

Sometimes you're flying, connecting all the dots and feeling like a genius. Other times, you can't see what's in front of your nose and wonder why you bother.

That’s because you don’t always see the changes immediately, even when you are making progress.

We often expect progress to be consistent or really obvious and visible.

Do a thing, see the result… that’s the ‘do this one thing and change your life’ hack culture I see everywhere.

But nature’s not like that, is it?

There are stages and phases and sometimes plateaus or setbacks.

And perhaps the most frustrating thing for me is that we don't honour the progress we can’t pin a KPI on.

If you feel like you keep having the same conversation with someone at work, have tried different approaches, and nothing seems to be happening, there may be progress happening in ways you haven't noticed yet. I spend a lot of time helping my clients recognise the progress they're making but overlooking, and what that might mean for what they do next.

TRY THIS

Think about something you're trying to change at the moment. It could be a situation at work, a relationship or even something you're trying to do differently yourself.

What might you see if you weren't so focused on 'progress' or getting to the end, but instead on the process of creating lasting change?

🔴 Am I so focused on the result that I'm missing what's happening along the way?

🟡 Have I explored so many possibilities that I haven’t given any of them time to stick?

🟢 Can I see the real value in this and what would make this change meaningful?

🔵 Am I so caught up in one specific connection that I'm missing all the other things falling into place around me?

Maybe things are changing afterall…

💡 Bonus:

If you are interested in how your mindset affects the way you approach change, I cover this in my book, People in Their Element.

I explore the difference between a fixed and growth mindset, and how changing the questions we ask ourselves can open up new possibilities in our working relationships.