The other day I was talking to a friend about making progress in work and in life.

​

And we were discussing the very real and very frustrating situation he was in.

​

He was making a lot of moves but did not have a lot of concrete progress to show for it.

And let me tell you (as I told him), I get how frustrating this can be.

​

We've all been there.

​

It's definitely happened to me plenty of times.

​

Like when I spent a year abroad realizing the many ways my dissertation project (as I thought of it at the time) did not quite work.

​

But when this happens, it's ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL not to despair.

​

For when despair takes over, we fall down and STAY down.

​

You see, it's absolutely essential to keep moving. To get back up and keep going forward.

​

As long as we keep moving forward and trying new things, we will find a better way forward.

​

(As I did with my dissertation - I'm done and incredibly happy with it in its final form!)

​

And to do so, we need to stay optimistic.

​

We need to have hope.

​

Even in the darkest moments.

​

Which, admittedly, can be hard when we fail to see concrete progress before our eyes.

​

But, as I told my friend, it is empowering to remember that in times like these, we are in fact making progress (despite appearances).

​

For you see, in cases like these, we are often making invisible progress.

​

Like negative progress in learning what doesn't work. By learning which parts of the space of possibilities do not lead to where you want to go.

​

This was actually Socrates's favorite kind of progress.

​

Knowing what doesn't work. What we're not getting right.

​

And it is not something to be scoffed at.

​

Besides this progress, there are other kinds of invisible progress.

​

Progress you make which doesn't take the form of concrete results you can see before your eyes (like more pages, minutes of content, or products).

​

The kind of progress you get by putting in the legwork.

​

By making a lot of moves.

​

By turning over an idea for months in your head

​

Like understanding what knife and method works best for you to quickly chop an onion,

​

Like honing a mastery of the fine details of how to cook an egg,

​

Or like stumbling upon that perfect way of formulating a point.

​

You see to really make that long-term, that true progress, it pays off to STOP focusing on outcomes and just CONTINUE TO

 

COME OUT AND PLAY!

​

By getting your hands dirty.

​

By seeing what doesn't work.

​

By learning to navigate all that could be to see what should be.

​

An incredibly powerful way to do this is by adopting the mindset that by continuing to try things out even when nothing seems to work, you can accumulate all kinds of invisible progress.

​

Especially negative progress.

​

So whenever you find yourself struggling and not having much to show for it, remember:

It's not that you're stuck in place.

​

It's that you're making invisible progress.

​

Progress that will eventually pay off in all kinds of incredible ways.

​

So long as you keep at it!

​

The idea that we are often making invisible progress is one of the key lessons that I teach in my Swirling Spirals System. This is a unique system that uses science and philosophy to help you bring about LASTING positive transformation EVEN when the going gets rough (like when nothing seems to be going your way).

So. If you’re ready to ALWAYS have hope and NEVER lose sight of the invisible progress in your life, check it out:

So if you want to find yourself, love what you do, and build the life of your dreams, then check it out:

 

https://www.promiseofphilosophy.com/sssoffer

To Your Ongoing Success and Fulfillment

​

Santi Sanchez, Ph.D.

​