Do you want to see instant results for your effort?
Maybe it’s at the gym, learning a language, an instrument, a game, overcoming an eating disorder, maybe it’s building your website and social media presence. We all know how it feels to have a goal that requires time and effort if we want meaningful results. We know that patience and perseverance can overcome mountains, but when we’re deep within the daily grind of life the mountain seems like a long way off.
When you get impatient, you get distracted by unimportant details. Maybe you even start again, or even embark on something brand new altogether. Or start looking for short-cuts.. You respond to the messages that offer 1000 instant Twitter followers, you find some muscle enhancing chemicals, or you search Google for cheat codes.
Or you just give up.
All of these are natural responses to the impatience you feel when life unfolds at its natural pace. Especially when you are surrounded by a culture that demands instant results. Everything is pointed towards the end without much regard for the way you get there.
Maybe it’s at the gym, learning a language, an instrument, a game, overcoming an eating disorder, maybe it’s building your website and social media presence. We all know how it feels to have a goal that requires time and effort if we want meaningful results. We know that patience and perseverance can overcome mountains, but when we’re deep within the daily grind of life the mountain seems like a long way off.
When you get impatient, you get distracted by unimportant details. Maybe you even start again, or even embark on something brand new altogether. Or start looking for short-cuts.. You respond to the messages that offer 1000 instant Twitter followers, you find some muscle enhancing chemicals, or you search Google for cheat codes.
Or you just give up.
All of these are natural responses to the impatience you feel when life unfolds at its natural pace. Especially when you are surrounded by a culture that demands instant results. Everything is pointed towards the end without much regard for the way you get there.
But the truth is, impatience is the worst ingredient to use if you’re attempting to bake a sustainable, structurally-sound cake. The process takes time. It takes a variety of ingredients, and different levels of direct participation throughout. This includes a lot of waiting. Patience. Self-control.
You Need to Know What Cake You’re Making
You want to make a cake. You follow the recipe for a Victoria Sponge. Then after you’ve added the sugar, whisked it all up you get distracted by a lovely looking fruitcake recipe so you add some dried fruit and brandy. Someone on Twitter has posted a picture of some chocolate brownies they made. Looking at your own effort you feel a bit disappointed so you mix things up a bit.
Do you end up with a Victoria Sponge, a fruit cake, or chocolate brownies?
No.
You end up with a disgusting gloopy mess. Is anyone going to want to eat it?
Unlikely.
Is anyone going to respect you as a baker?
Doubtful…
Know what you’re aiming for and go there. Just because you’re making a sponge cake today it doesn’t mean that’s what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life. But you’ve got to finish what you started otherwise your effort is in vain.
Don’t get distracted or disheartened by what others are doing differently than you.
If it’s not helpful to the recipe you are working towards then it will only result in confusion and mess.
Sometimes it feels like you’re not getting anywhere. But this is often just your perception because it can be hard to remember that great things take time.
A cake stands in the oven, alone, without you touching it (or opening the oven door) for a long while before you are able to get it out. And even then you need to let it stand for a period before you can ice it.
Impatience at any step during this process could be detrimental to the end result.
So the next time you’re feeling like you want to tinker, change direction, take a short cut, or give up just remember:
You’re doing it right and you’re doing it enough, you just need to keep it up.
Author and Credits: Andy Mort