I love returning to a “go to” book like Steven Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Effective People” or Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way”.
Recently I ventured back to James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”. The amount of gold in those pages is bigger than the Kalgoorlie Super Pit.
Amongst many of the pearls of wisdom is The Plateau of Latent Potential.
What we think the effort should be like verses what reality is due to our natural human behaviour. The effort verse reward is not linear.
The start of getting fit is full of enthusiasm until it is quelled by the cold weather, late night or early meetings which then inhibits progress ending in a drop in commitment – aptly named “The Valley of Disappointment.”
Being a more right-side thinker, this emotional stagnation is very real, and this is the space where we consider the Return Point as an option – Return to who we were.
However, I see The Valley of Disappointment as an opportunity to draw upon and build our courage muscle by referring to this point of reflection as “The Learning Pit”.
The space where we look within ourselves and use courage to overcome those barriers to realise the habit that will take us to the next level of productivity and happiness.
“The Valley of Disappointment” is a graveyard of great intentions and well-meaning efforts that were thwarted by simple unhelpful thoughts.
Using helpful thoughts, that very same space can be “The Learning Pit” where we embrace our inner strengths, use curiosity to remove the barriers and forge new routines that benefit not just ourselves but others around us.
When have you encountered the Valley of Disappointment and turned it into The Leaning Pit?
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