An Invisible Key To Growth
This phenomenon is the reason that successful people become more successful, and the frustrated slip further and further
The phenomenon known as the positive feedback loop is a key to success that the emotionally healthy, and the fulfilled are keen to. They’ve discovered it, and it is an essential part of their lives. Its free to anyone and everyone, and it is the closest thing to a lifehack I have ever encountered.
One of my favorite things to do nowadays is the dishes. Yes, the dishes.
Then I go and fold the laundry and put it away.
Then I go down to the gym in our apartment building and lift weights.
It is very important to understand these three things don’t happen independent of each other, the second happens because of the first, and the third happens because of the second.
An hour and a half later my day has improved significantly. This compounds.
We have mechanisms in our brain that reinforce these sorts of behaviors as “good”, so when we perform a task successfully, we get a shot of positive emotion that makes us more likely to continue this loop. This is called the positive feedback loop.
Other ways in which the positive feedback loop impacts our lives is socially. Take for example what people do on this platform: they write. Say I decide one day I want to start writing.
I make a profile and post my first story. Great, but then all of a sudden a few claps and views come trickling in. Maybe it isn’t very many and maybe most are friends and family, but that is ok.
It is positive feedback.
I take that positive feedback and that spurs me on to write another story and publish it. There are a few more views this time! That's progress and the positive feedback loop picks up momentum.
Now, we know that success takes time and is rarely exponential or even linear. That's why it is vital to have the proper perspective that understands that a relentless, almost stoic attitude towards the process is vital to your probability of success.
Maybe I get 15 views on your first story, but only 8 on my second. That's ok!
A realistic time frame is essential. If there is no tangible improvement in views 30 stories later then maybe I’ll want to reevaluate my approach, but a few stories are not enough of a sample size.
Jesus spoke to this very concept. Christ was aware of the reality of the positive feedback loop. He utters these words in the book of Mathew:
“For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has.”
Christ meant this in spiritual terms, something like, “If you don’t have the proper foundational beliefs about me, then you will have nothing in the end because everything you build from here on out will be built on falsehood so it will render it null and void. But, if you at least have a proper start to your beliefs, then you can build from there and you will find the Kingdom of God.”
A common reason why people fail to move forward in life towards better physical health, emotional health, better relationships, more fulfilling careers is that they think that the laborious, seemingly feeble first steps are indicative of subsequent steps.
“If success is this much work and yields this little reward and recognition, then success isn’t for me.” It’s overrated, or so they think.
In reality, though, the positive feedback loop is invisible, and can only be experienced by taking a step forward. If I travel to a star somewhere out in the galaxy, from there I will be able to see other stars I was never able to see before I took that first step. We must take the first step towards the first star to take advantage of this invisible mechanism.
Follow Jared on Twitter @jtwalls7
