I was reading Atomic Habits by James Clear again this weekend. He was explaining “The Plateau of Latent Potential,” which essentially describes the delay between expectations and results. Clear also discusses the “Valley of Disappointment,” which is when people often get discouraged for weeks or even months as their hard work takes time to produce a breakthrough event.

We’ve all been here because our outcomes are our lagging measure of our habits. Our net worth is a lagging measure of our financial habits. Our weight is a lagging measure of our eating habits. Our knowledge is a lagging measure of our learning habits. And our clutter is lagging measure of our cleaning habits. Clear states, “You get what you repeat.”

So what are you repeating that hasn’t quite produced results yet? Are you in the “Valley of Disappointment,” waiting for something good? DO NOT GIVE UP! Keep going! Your habit and your hard work will pay off soon! Many of us quit too soon because we don’t see the results we want, but the pay day is right around the corner. DO NOT QUIT! You may have hit a plateau, that’s all. Ride it out. Keep up your great work, knowing the results are on their way. We got this!

With Gratitude,

Beth

P.S. We are discussing James Clear’s Atomic Habits on Wednesday April 28th at 5pm in Beth’s Book Club 2021. Join us regardless of whether or not you have read the book. This has been my favorite book so far in the book club —I actually read it twice now. It’s a game changer.