The Perception of Progress
Progress is a forward movement towards a destination or a goal.
Progress is a forward movement towards a destination or a goal.
Depending on the size of your goal, progress might be visibly measurable or it might not.
This is especially the case for BHAGs or Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
Big goals may seem out of reach, unachievable or even impossible, because it’s hard to see progress towards a big goal.
Does this mean big goals are bad and you should stick to small goals?
Definitely not, goals should be big and big goals are possible.
Desmond Tutu once said that “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
And for those of you aren’t into eating elephants, Lao Tzu says, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.”
Obviously you need to keep on stepping, but it is one step at a time.
What I want to talk about today is the way you perceive progress and how you can make sure you keep progressing.
These days, everyone understands the concept of a black belt, it signifies expertise.
It comes from Japanese martial arts and it’s even used in non-martial arts contexts, such as the Six Sigma business improvement technique.
A black belt is a big goal in that it can take many years to achieve.
Did you know that belts in martial arts did not always exist? And that ranks were originally acknowledged by certificates?
Judo founder Jigoro Kano, introduced the belt ranking system as we know it today, but initially it was just two ranks, black for graded students and white for beginners.
In 1935, colour belts were introduced by another Judo master Mikonosuke Kawaishi. He was teaching in Paris, France and the students needed additional extrinsic cues to remind them visualise progress.
The colour belts are stages to the black belt and used as an incentive for students to stay motivated. And within the colour belts there’s incremental steps that’s depicted by stripes.
Big goals are important to have.
So how to do make sure you succeed in achieving your goal?
- Break down big goals into small stages and even smaller steps to allows you to see progress. This allows you to see your progress in a timeframe that maintains motivation.
- Keep track of your progress. Record the achievement of these steps and stages. Now this important for when you feel like you are not progressing. Having a record allows you to look back at just how far you’ve travelled from when you started.
- And 3. The last and possibly the most important tip - DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS. Everybody is unique. Everybody is different. And so are everybody’s circumstances. This means, your success, your goals and your progress will be different too. If you compare yourself to others, you might become victim to the slippery slope of self doubt.
And when you achieve these milestones, take the time to celebrate your success. You’ve earned it. Reward yourself. This will help maintain the momentum of motivation and keep you progressing
Photo by Ashima Pargal on Unsplash