Why Effort is Never Wasted and Always Worth It...#10

Pushing towards your goals

It is easy to get frustrated when progress towards a goal is slow. You have worked hard toward your career progression, business goal, fitness target, or creative dream, but progress is slow or not what you hoped. So you stop trying. Momentum then halts. You stagnate and wonder - “Why bother?” This lack of visible progress makes you want to quit.

However, keep this in mind: consistent effort is never wasted, no matter the outcome. Shifting your mindset to focus on effort, not just the result, will help you sustainably build momentum.

Here are two key principles to remember:

1. Effort guides you towards achievement. Putting in regular work, showing up, trying, adjusting - this incrementally moves you closer to your goals. Each small gain and lesson learned is a step in the right direction, even if you aren’t hitting your targets just yet. Without steady effort, you risk staying in the same place. Progress flows from imperfect action.
2. Effort strengthens your abilities. Pushing toward a target builds skills, knowledge, and self-confidence. Meeting challenges head-on develops qualities within you that enable further success. You will accumulate a repository of abilities that can propel you into future victories.

So when doubt creeps in, remember: your consistent efforts are never wasted, no matter the timeline. Trust that your focused work builds capacity that will fuel wins when persevering towards any goal.

An illustration from James Clear on how 1% better everyday compounds vs 1% worse every day for 365 days. Every little effort counts.

I hope these suggestions help provide encouragement to keep progressing:

a. Celebrate small daily forward steps. Journal wins or failures along the journey to reinforce that consistency pays off.

b. Connect to your deeper “why” and how achieving this goal improves your life and ability to help others. Let this purpose re-spark motivation on harder days.

c. Only focus on inputs you can control - your attitude and actions. Ignore unrelated outputs like outside opinions or unrelated milestones. Show up determined to put in a focused effort, then let go of attachment to exact results.

Staying focused on consistent daily efforts is challenging but game-changing. Small gains compound over time creating unstoppable momentum towards your goals. Share your experiences in the comments section.