Progress equals happiness
tony robbins
Tony Robbins famously says progress equals happiness. After a recent beach volleyball tournament, I’ve been believing in that statement more. I’d like to add onto that by saying progress equals happiness plus hope.
Making progress in beach volleyball
I just played in a small co-ed beach volleyball competition that one of my friends set up. Normally, I finish in last place or 2nd to last place. This time, I finished 8th out of 12 teams. Here was my partner and I!
Now for some of you, that may not be impressive at all, but it was for me. I was feeling so happy and hopeful about my growth in the sport because I saw myself making progress, especially in something I really enjoy and started caring more about.
You know what the funny thing is? I never set a specific finish as a goal for the tournament. On the car ride to the competition, I gave myself 4 goals:
- defensively read at least one hitter in a match
- have high arms and swing (or spike) high
- record some competition footage to study later
- socialize with some new people
As long as I met these 4 goals, I would be happy because each of these goals were steps in my journey to becoming a better volleyball player. I met these 4 goals; getting my best finish was just the icing on top.
Why does progress equal happiness?
You’re growing into the person that you want to be or you are achieving your dreams and goals. You feel like you are personally succeeding. And when you succeed at something, you feel happy! You also feel more alive when that happens. That happiness is also key for personal development and mental health.
The happiness I feel is better than any form of instant gratification. It’s a joy that sticks to me and in some way, hypes me up for when I do other things like write on this blog or go work out.
Happiness also scales based on how much progress you made and what you’re doing. If you’re making a lot of progress in say your financial goals, you’ll be more content with your growth and how much money you have.
On the other hand, if you’re making progress on something you don’t enjoy, you won’t feel as happy (or happy at all). I can speak from personal experience on my own career – I was making more money but I wasn’t happy at all.
Hope also comes out of progress
If you make progress on something you care about, it shows that you have the capability to accomplish something that is meaningful to yourself. Progress gives you hope that your future can be better. And that’s something not to be underestimated.
That type of hope fuels the self esteem you need to overcome other barriers in life.
Looking at my growth has given me some hope not just in becoming a better volleyball player but also in other areas of my life. The hope kinda bleeds over into other areas like career change and growing my blog.
You need a plan to have progress
You need a plan or some outlined path to know that you are making progress.
I rarely planned for things like my career or finances in my 20’s because I felt like planning was too hard. The details of needing to knowing where I wanted to be or what type of person I wanted to become felt pretty overwhelming to think about, let alone define. Also, even if I did define those things, the fear of failing to meet those goals deterred me from planning. I was stuck in that progress vs perfection mindset.
So what can you do? Margot Robbie said it best in an interview – just start somewhere. Set a simple goal. It doesn’t have to be big, but it also can’t be too small. It has to be challenging enough for you to feel engaged in the process. This is what I’m doing now in almost all aspects of my life, from calorie counting to traveling to financial planning.
An idea I use to remind myself to plan is pretending that I’m an archer. If I don’t have a target to shoot at, I won’t know if I’m getting better at shooting arrows. I’m just shooting aimlessly.
But if I have a target, then I’ll know what to aim at, how bad or good my aim is, and work up from there.
3 reminders about making progress
Progress is never a straight line
Progress is like a drive up a mountain. There are times where you are going uphill and sometimes where you are going downhill. The road is filled with twists and turns. Progress is just the same 🙂
Sometimes you may have to take 1 step back to take 2 steps forward. Easier said than done. For me, I had to take a step back with my spike approach. I had to break my habit of wanting to run straight in and swing hard, which has been difficult because it’s how I’ve taught myself to score points. Learning how to control my approach and learn different swings has been hard to implement, but I’m starting to see it pay off!
Do not confuse movement with progress
Denzel Washington famously said this. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you’re getting a lot done. You can set a goal to run a mile but if all you’re doing is running in place (i.e. not moving from where you are standing), you can sweat all you want but you won’t run a mile. For my volleyball game, I can practice passing a ball terribly for an hour and not become a better player.
I am still very guilty of this mindset. I’ve convinced myself that if I stay busy with something, it means I’m being productive and making progress. If you’re busyness isn’t moving you forward, then you have to reconsider the path you are taking toward your goal. Redefine the steps you take in relation to your goal.
Consistency over intensity
I believe that making small consistent steps is more important to making progress in the long run. While there are times where taking it up a notch is helpful, trying to be intense all the time can lead to burnout.
