I've been thinking (again) about how we move from point A to point B, then to point C, and so on until we reach point Z.
This type of progress although can seem very slow is usually how a strong foundation is built, in terms of doing things the right way.
Sometimes I even find myself moving back to point C after going all the way through to point M simply because one single letter wasn't properly understood or mastered.
But lately, it is quite noticeable and feels like everyone wants to jump straight from A to Z, skipping all the steps in between.
Perhaps, I could use riding a bike example (again) to drive this point across.
You couldn't just hop on a bike for the first time and start racing. You needed training wheels, scraped knees, wobbly starts, and countless falls before you could cruise down the street with confidence. We all knew this was normal back then.
But somewhere along the way, this simple truth has been forgotten.
I see it almost everywhere now. People are buying expensive "become an expert in 30 days" courses, then feeling defeated when they're still struggling after a month.
Turning the pages of time a bit back into the past revealed this isn't how it used to be.
Blacksmiths and carpenters spent years as apprentices, learning the basics before they could even touch the advanced techniques.
A young blacksmith had to learned to make nails first (and he was proud of those nails, probably) before graduating into higher levels such as forging swords.
They understood tangibly something we've forgotten, which is skipping steps doesn't make you faster. It makes your foundation weak.
I think it's partly because of the digital era we live in that has contributed a bit on missing the tangible part of weak foundations.
When someone builds a house without proper foundation work, the cracks show up eventually.
But when someone buys an expensive camera and expects to immediately take professional photos, the "cracks" aren't as obvious. The poor results can be blamed on the tool, the tutorial, or bad luck.
In the physical world, a wobbly table teaches you immediately that you skipped something important. In the digital world, that feedback often comes much later, if at all.
So why do we keep trying to skip ahead?
It could be a lot of things that can be simply boiled down to just being impatient in a world that moves so fast.
Also, those seemingly overnight success stories on social media are carefully curated highlights that never show the years of groundwork.
When I wanted to get better at drawing, I didn't start by trying to draw a perfect portrait of Mona Lisa. It was plainly impossible and I did drew terrible drawings at first. Lots of them. Still do, sometimes. Each one taught me something small but important that contributed towards becoming better at this craft.
Here's obvious points I try to remember now:
The truth is, every letter between A and Z has a purpose. Just like every step between where you are and where you want to be.
Trying to skip steps to faster get to the destination completely misses the point of the journey altogether.
The missing steps are there waiting for us to slow down and take them. Lest we build castles on quicksand, beautiful from afar but eventually doomed to sink.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.
