There might be ups and downs

We have all passed through the same process. We see a video motivating us to start a new practice, working out or improving our life in some way through the development of benefitial habits for us. We thought to ourselves that we were going to change our lives completely from the next day onwards. Then the next morning comes and we begin our journey towards change by making a habit stick. The first week goes smoothly, maybe even the second and the third, though at some point of the journey we get stuck and depressed by not seeing any improvement, so at one point we leave It and we go back to our old modes of being. The principal problem with seeing things in this way is relying overtly in an unpredictable source of energy such as pure motivation without developing first something that is essential for the development of anything we plan to sustain in the long run, this being discipline. That's why in the article presented I'll talk about the compound effect that being present every day without looking forward too fast to the benefits we're going to get can bring us. Let's begin:

Compound Effect?

Essentialy, a Compound Effect is what happens when you obtain a substantial benefit from something from making little, seemingly "insignificant" actions in a constant fashion. Essentially It is what happens when you put 10 dollars in a piggy bank for a whole a year and you obtain at the end a solid amount of 3650 dollars into your savings. If we tried to describe this as a formula, It will go like this:

Small choices + Consistency + Time = Significant Results.

How does It affect my life?

The wrong belief that the joy and meaning of life is obtained only from the big moments like getting a business up or getting married has damaged the perception we have about working towards a goal, making us think that all those good things will come with only a stroke, though in reality is a much more complex progress. All of those successes come from little decisions and a non-stopping work ethic. By seeing what we do through the lenses of the compound effect we'll be more patient by understanding that nothing will come fully at first though with a set of jabs till the enemy breaks down, making us stick to our practices for a longer time.

How to maintain the compound effect?

It's pretty easy to apply a compound effect to everything as It will come naturally to us. However, in order to make this process easier I bring you a little set of strategies that you can apply in order to make you more disciplined when It comes to making progress and getting things done:

Break Hard things into little parts

You will not run 20 miles a day since the first one, so the best thing to do is to put yourself in the position of a beginner, selecting a little fraction of the end goal and then increasing little by little the amount of challenge till you can tolerate exactly the same amount of pressure that the final objective presents in Its realization. Going back to those 20 miles, a good way to start would be to reduce 20 to 2 miles, then every week increasing 0.1 or 0.2 miles, all till you get to those 20 in a slow though steady period of 2 years.

Accountability Partners

By making friends with something that is also an enthusiast of what you're trying to achieve and maybe even more experienced, you'll be able to keep accountable, knowing that the other person hopes the best for you and wants you to keep disciplined. In this way you will not feel alone in the progress and you'll enjoy more the progress.

I hope that with the information in this article I could have given you some advice as to how to make habits stick more by doing something that even If it might seem intuitive to us, sometimes It needs to be reminded, the compound effect. Thank you for your support and good luck!