For some of us, there is often an area of life where change always seems to be too damn hard. Maybe it’s getting healthy, changing that pesky habit, or even getting that longed for promotion. We may look to friends or others on social media who are succeeding in those realms, and think, ‘they have no idea how hard it is!’ and ‘why is it so easy for them?’.
Change is hard because of our expectations.
We tend to think that we should see a linear relationship between our efforts and results – in other words, more efforts, more results.
However that often doesn’t happen, and then we get discouraged and might even give up.
Introducing the Plateau of Latent Potential
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear presents a concept called the ‘plateau of latent potential‘. This says we can put a lot of effort into changing a habit, and not see results for a long time. But if we work hard and stick with our goals for long enough, the shift will happen – we just have to be patient.
It’s just like chopping frozen vegetables. I was chopping frozen asparagus this morning and at first it was super hard to cut, and I found myself sawing away at it, putting in tons of effort. But when I got about halfway through the spear, it took no additional effort to completely cut it. All the work was up front, and by the time I got halfway, it was magically easy!
The reward I was getting for chopping the asparagus was not linear – there was a lot of effort up front, and virtually none at the end. The results of my efforts went from painfully slow and hard, to extremely fast and easy!
While James Clear was talking about habit change, this concept can be applied to anything you are trying to achieve. Whether it’s recovering from a disease, being more healthy, becoming a professional speaker, or even finding a soul mate!
How This Applies to Healing
As I reflected on the concept, I realized how this explained my own healing journey. Life was so hard when I was mired in depression, anxiety and self-loathing. I spent so much effort battling (without success) my inner demons, that I wasn’t able to focus my energy effectively on growth. I felt like my goals and dreams were covered with molasses, and I was constantly being tripped up and thrown backwards into more trials and tribulations.
Then I found effective methods to heal and stuck to them. I saw changes here and there, but still overall, from the outside, I doubt others would have seen any change. If I had focused on the larger goals instead of fixing underlying problems that were getting in the way, I probably would have given up long ago. But finding the problems preventing healing and fixing them was my key to success.
Sometimes the change is linear, but more often than not, it follows the plateau of latent potential.
Why Change is Hard for Some and Appears Easy for Others
We don’t usually see the struggle – we just see the overnight success.
The plateau of latent potential explains why growth appears to be so easy for others. They might not have had all those barriers we struggled with, or they may have already found ways to overcome them.
So, if you feel like giving up, because change seems too damn hard, hang in there! As James Clear says, every action you make is a vote towards being the type of person you want to be. If you don’t see results right away, it’s because you’ve got more barriers to overcome before you find the door to smooth sailing. The more you persist and problem solve, the closer you are to the sweet spot where growth feels magically easy!
Do you have friends that get discouraged and give up too soon when making attempting to make positive changes? Please share this article with them!
