amount of time you need. Then double it. That’s your
most realistic deadline.”
–Software Development Maxim
“People tend to overestimate what they will
accomplish in one year, but underestimate what they
will accomplish in five.”
–Steve Pavlina
The more time you give yourself to complete a
goal, the more likely you’ll achieve it. With any
goal under 1-2 years, you’re probably
overestimating the amount you can accomplish.
By undertaking new goals with deliberate
slowness, you increase the chance you can
achieve lasting success.
Deliberate Slowness
Deliberate slowness has lost its appeal as a
virtue. Although most people remember the old
fable about the slow and successful tortoise
against the faster hare, slowness is viewed as a
sin in today’s culture. Walk through any
bookstore and you’ll see promises to lose weight,
make money and be successful in less time than
you ever imagined.
Lose twenty pounds in one week. Double your
income in a year. Change any bad habit instantly.
Although these promises may sell more books,
they undermine the power of deliberate
slowness.
What would happen if you made your goal to
lose twenty pounds, not in one month, but in one
year? First, your likelihood of success would
increase dramatically. The steps necessary to
lose twenty pounds in a month are more drastic
than losing twenty pounds in a year. Second,
you’re more likely to develop the habits of eating
and exercise that will keep the weight off once
you reach your goal. Permanent success, even if
it takes longer to reach, is worth far more than
any fleeting achievement.
Almost any goal is achievable, but it might not be
achievable within the deadline you set. If I set
the goal of reading 1000 books, that goal is
relatively easy within 30 years, strenuous within
7 years and almost impossible within 3 years.
Setting the goal to become a millionaire is almost
impossible in 1 year, difficult in 10 and
practically a sure thing with 40 years, provided
you follow a plan.
Patience is Underrated
Patience must underlie deliberate slowness.
Almost any goal is achievable within a long
enough time frame. However, the longer the
time frame, the more patience you have to exert
to keep your behavior consistent throughout this
time. If you set the goal of investing $100 per
month, but give up in less than a year, you won’t
achieve any meaningful increase on your
investment.
Patience forces you to focus on the process
towards a goal, instead of just the result. The
person who sprints at the beginning of a
marathon is focused only on the end, not the
steps beneath her feet. Once you admit that
following a pace is necessary, you become
focused on the steps. Once you accept slowness,
you may even enjoy the path to the finish line.
Slowness is Quicker
In a paradox worthy of Lao Tzu, slowness
actually achieves results faster than the
alternative. When you make the effort to take
more time than you believe is necessary, you
ensure you don’t slide backwards. Like running
on ice, you place each foot carefully in front of
the next, so you won’t trip.
When I first started this website, I made my goal
of reaching a minimum income at over three
years. It’s amazing that someone could give up
on a project like this after only six months. In the
future, even though my skills have improved, I
would expect any online business venture to take
a few years before it is financially stable.
If I make a fitness goal, I deliberately make the
progress slower than it needs to be. Instead of
gaining 10 pounds of muscle in one month (as
many people ambitiously strive for), I’d place
that goal at 3-6 months. By taking longer, I can
focus on doing it properly, making the necessary
changes to diet and health last. Also, by making
changes slowly, I can eat healthfully, without
eating unhealthy diets just to force my body to
adapt.
Personal Development
Starts with a Firm Footing
Self-improvement is difficult. I think it is more
difficult than most people realize. Making a
permanent change, even a small one, takes
effort, time and more than a few mistakes. On a
short-term time horizon, even the smallest
changes are almost miraculous.
The power of focusing on personal development
is that returns compound. The investments you
make in one area, allow you to improve in
another. Being healthier gives you more energy
to work harder, giving you more money to
educate yourself. This upward spiral means that
in the long-term, small changes can have a huge
impact.
A common mistake is to confuse these short and
long-term time horizons. By assuming self-
improvement functions the same way in six
months as it does in six years, you make two
errors. First, you greatly overestimate the
amount you can realistically accomplish in six
months. Second, you underestimate the power
that deliberate slowness has in six years.
Because of this distinction, I would be incredibly
optimistic if I felt I could permanently increase
my income by 30% in the next month. However,
I’d consider it completely reasonable that I
could triple my income in the next six years.
If you don’t engage in deliberate slowness, you
risk sliding back to the beginning. A temporary
50% increase of my income is worth far less to
me than a permanent 5% increase. One was
stepped firmly, and can be used as the basis for
future growth. The other will break if pressure
is applied.
Reference:
Scott H Young
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2009/02/18/walk-slowly-so-you-dont-trip/
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