If you are trying to progress, one of the most frustrating things is waiting for the tipping point. There always is one in your progress toward a goal. You might some initial improvements, but then there is this long slow haul towards improvement that will appear like you are not progressing at all. However, you will get to that tipping point eventually. When multiple factors are impacting your success it takes a while for the progress on those factors to converge. When they do converge, suddenly all the elements come together and rapid progress is made. You hit the tipping point.
In weight loss for example, there is this convergence of muscle growth and body fat percentage. When the progress in these two factors come together, you wake up and look in the mirror and are like – wow! I really do have some muscles under that layer of body fat! Woohoo! This can take a painfully long time. Think on this. How long did it take to build that very impressive layer of insulation you currently have? Most likely a very long time. I know that is the case for me. It took me 20 years of hard work eating bad, being lazy to finally get to the state I was in. I am only really making some noticeable progress now after about 18 months of dedicated effort. However, that is only 18 months. Funny, we are impatiently trying to shed off 20 years of build up in such a short period of time. Impossible. The reality is, that it goes on slow and comes off slow. That is the way it works.
I looked into the science behind this awhile back ago. Have you ever wondered where the fat goes? When you get rid of weight caused by excess fat, where exactly does it go? How does the body get rid of it? Well, I will save you the trouble of googling it. It comes as a by product of energy consumption which is the breakdown of a fat molecule. Effectively it is taking something like the molecular structure of C(55)H(104)O(6) to ENERGY YOU NEED + 55CO2 + 55H2O.
Do you follow that? Fat becomes energy you can burn and the by product is water and carbon dioxide. How do you get rid of that? You betcha, you pee it out (but only a small amount), where you really get rid of the by product of fat is by breathing! You got it! You breathe fat out of your body! This is why it takes such a long freaking time and why it is a little silly to watch the scale and get bummed out. You are literally breathing your fat loss out of your body with every exhale. As this long slow process occurs, it coincides with muscle growth which produces noticeable results. Want that tipping point go come faster? Work out more. More muscle building, more cardiovascular and eat cleaner. No fad diet required, just not a ton of excess. The tipping point will come.
This tipping point is important in all aspects of self improvement – even personal relationships. In every growth opportunity, look for the two most causal factors. In a relationship, your desire to have a better relationship with another needs to intersect with the other persons desire to reciprocate your attention. This can take a very long time. Think on this, if you spend 18 years ignoring the value of a relationship with a child, you cannot expect that relationship to suddenly be repaired in a weekend. It will take time, for both of you to get to that tipping point. Once achieved, progress will seem miraculous. However, it will take months or potentially even years.
Your sales career for example. What are the two major causal factors to success? The amount of effort you put into relationships with people that buy your services, and the desire they have to buy from you. That takes work, effort, and usually a long haul. However, once you get there, suddenly the tipping point occurs and it is amazing to watch how a trust relationship provides a continuous stream of successful sales. I suppose a lot of success is just having the patience to wait for this to occur (that is if you are doing the right things).
I guess the point of this is to not lose faith in your effort. Patience is required as you wait for the intersection of multiple factors. Once they reach the point of intersection, you will be amazed at the results.
Guy Reams
