How to Make Every Choice Compound in Your Favor
Have you ever heard someone say that life is compounding? Maybe, if you’re in school studying finance, you might be familiar with the concept. Just as money compounds and interest accumulates, compounding can also have an adverse effect. Things can depreciate, which reflects a negative compounding effect. However, have you ever heard that your life, everything that you do, is compounding? The results of your actions stack over time. The more effort you put in, the more you accumulate, and this accumulation continues to grow.
Life is like compounding interest.
If you don’t exercise today, it will compound into tomorrow, making it increasingly more challenging to get started because the effects of avoiding exercise have been compounding. However, if you begin exercising today, you’ll be able to do more repetitions tomorrow or run a longer distance. The more effort you put in, the more it benefits you over time. Everything in life is either compounding in your favor or not in your favor. An important question is: are you monitoring the areas in your life that are compounding? Every next-level leader monitors the areas that are compounding, be it negatively or positively. If you notice an area in your life that’s not compounding in your favor, you should make an adjustment as quickly as possible. Conversely, if you see an area that is compounding positively, you should focus on increasing it, as this will help you build momentum and move further forward.
The more you study over time, the more you learn. If you dedicate yourself to studying a subject every day for five years, you will become an expert in that particular field or topic because knowledge compounds. You can only reap the benefits of what you invest; if you put nothing in, you’ll get nothing out. The more effort you put in, the easier it is to gain knowledge. The reason we’re not any good at some things is that we haven’t put in the necessary skills or knowledge to be good at them.
I remember a time when my wife, Pamela, decided she wanted to start embroidering. Although she had seen someone embroider before, she had never tried it herself. What I appreciated about her journey into this new hobby was her eagerness to learn. Each day, she gathered more information, and her understanding deepened. She explored the various aspects of embroidery, such as:
– The types of machines available
– The materials used
– The speed of the embroidery process
– The techniques involved
– How to create different styles, patterns, surfaces, and textures
It was truly inspiring to witness her dedication and growth in this new craft.
The process seemed never-ending. Pamela was learning how to embroider and creating various pieces. Initially, her work was quite flawed, and she was just relieved to finish anything at all. However, completing a project was incredibly inspiring. With each attempt, her skills improved. The more she practiced, the better she became, demonstrating that life is indeed compounding.
Like riding a bicycle, which is a learning process, at first, you might fall over and feel wobbly. You may struggle to handle different terrains, as well as speed and agility. Despite this initial clumsiness and the fear that comes with it, you keep trying. As you practice, you begin to ride with less thought and more confidence. Over time, the nervousness fades, and with each ride, you learn and improve. The more you compound experience with this process, the better you become. Eventually, you will reach a point where you feel like an expert.
This continuous compounding is why people can participate in bike competitions, performing incredible feats like flying through the air, reaching extreme heights, and flipping over their handlebars. They have mastered these skills through extensive practice, which has compounded their abilities. As a result, the average person is unable to do what these skilled cyclists can achieve.
So if you want to step out of average, out of normal, out of standard, out of regular, do something to compound the activities that you want to become extraordinary in. This type of compounding is the goal of every leader: to identify an area where you can excel, where you can achieve more than the person next to you. Make the compounding nature of life work in your favor, rather than allowing it to work against you.
If you want to be a leader who steps out of “average, normal, common,” do something to compound the activities that you want to become extraordinary in.
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