Dance With the Struggle
The J Curve has come up in several of my conversations over the past couple days. I first learned about it in Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well.
The journey towards a goal is not a straight upward line, but rather a J curve.
When tracing the letter ‘J,’ we start in the middle>>dip down>>then swing back up to the top.
The Dip (also called the Valley of Death by some sources) is inevitable in the J curve. The dip is when we feel the struggle and discomfort. It’s in the dip where the majority quits. The deeper/wider the dip, the more likely it is that people will give up and go home.
Be ready for the Dip. When it arrives, do not run away. Tell it, ‘I’ve been waiting for you—there you are.’ Embrace the pain. Lean into the Dip in order to come out the other end. Dance with the struggle.
Once I saw the J curve, it was hard to un-see it. It’s everywhere: career development, relationships, spirituality, education, physical fitness, learning a new skill, sales, manufacturing, distribution….
It’s easy to be a CEO. What’s hard is getting there.
You do 8 reps in weight training so that you can get the benefits from pushing through the last 2.
Staying in the game is magical.
When you face the Dip, how do you stay in the game?
