"the dip"

It's been a long time, about seven weeks, since I posted to this blog. I was going to say it's hard to come back, but actually, it's surprisingly easy. If I followed my usual style, I would never come back to it again. At the very least I would spend a decent amount of time agonizing over whether I should get back to a blog I have neglected so shamefully. Past thought habits have been telling me that this phase in my train of serial interests is over, so forget about it and move on to the next one. I don't feel like being limited by that, and I'm not in the mood to agonize, so I am just plunging in again.

Several of the books I've been reading lately are by Seth Godin, blogger and marketing genius. His books are short, easy to read (but not always easy to understand or implement), and thought-provoking. Two of the books I just finished are Free Prize Inside and the dip. The Dip is subtitled A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick). How appropriate.

Godin says a lot of people quit when they should be persistent, and stick with things that aren't working for them and are leading them nowhere. I don't have much of a problem with the second, but I could write a book on the first. I quit a lot. I even wrote a post about it, called "Resistance is Futile". Shortly after that post, I quit the blog for almost two months.

Here are a couple of quotations from Godin's The Dip:

Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations. Reactive quitting and serial quitting are the bane of those that strive (and fail) to get what they want. And most people do just that. They quit when it's painful and stick when they can't be bothered to quit...

This is how he explains the Dip:

At the beginning, when you first start something, it's fun. You could be taking up golf or acupuncture or piloting a plane or doing chemistry---doesn't matter; it's interesting, and you get plenty of good feedback from the people around you.

Over the next few days and weeks, the rapid learning you experience keeps you going. Whatever your new thing is, it's easy to stay engaged in it.

And then the Dip happens.

The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery...

The Dip is the long stretch between beginner's luck and real accomplishment...

The Dip is the set of artificial screens set up to keep people like you out...

The point of Godin's book is that how you handle the Dip determines your success in life. What a great lesson for me. I know how to quit dead-end jobs or activities, but the problem is that I often don't push through the tough parts when I'm doing something worthwhile.

Godin says,

"Successful people don't just ride out the Dip... No, they lean into the Dip. They push harder, changing the rules as they go... Dips don't last quite as long when you whittle at them."

When have you run into a Dip in your life? How did you handle it? Do you know when to quit and when to persist?

Comments

[Danean]

I have a dip that happens every school year. About the end of February and through March I have a difficult time sticking with my plan to get and keep my students motivated, mostly because I am not. I am bored and when I am bored I want to let it go and do something else. Fortunately, since this is my job and I don't have a choice, I do stick it out and continue to work with the children. However, my big challenge tends to be how intese I am during that time.
My current project is exercise. I am walking every day with a good friend of mine everyday for 4 miles a day. It feels great and I love every second of it. I am very excited about my progress as well. When school starts though, I will have a difficult time juggling all of our activities and still get this amount of exercise in. We will see what happens.

[Angie Gray]

I hit a dip when it comes to difficult projects with my children. One project I struggle with is exercising with my middle daughter. She is kind of lethargic, and somewhat contrary, and I just don't stick to this project--begun last year, I might add, that I know is worthwhile, and will net results we both want. This is helpful advice, Julie. Thanks! btw, no apologies necessary. Remind me of that when I return to my blog. :)

[Faith Barista]

Hi Julie,

I think it's wonderful you are taking the time to just be open and receptive to whatever God is placing on your heart. Although you are not posting, please don't think of yourself as a quitter. I think the world views stopping an activity that hasn't produced results quitting. But, God wants you to have the freedom to continue or stop. I hope you find the freedom to enjoy whatever it is that God is drawing you towards! :) So great to "see" you today!

[Julie Benner]

That is a great commitment, to walk that much! I'll bet that you will find a way to continue, although you might find the beginning of the school year a dip to push through. I will support you in your commitment to your health and exercise -- I have the same one. For me, it is always the cold, dark winter that creates the big exercise dip.

I feel the way you do about homeschooling too, although it is getting started in the fall that is tough at first, after the lazy summers. Mid-winter is a tough one to push through too. It does help when you have no choice.

Thanks for the great comment, Danean!

[Julie Benner]

Yes, it is hard to stick with kid projects, especially when you are the one generating them, and they are resisting. I am always surprised, on the ones I do manage to continue, how benefits can really pile up eventually. When I started our chore charts, there was a lot of resistance from the kids, and several times I wanted to give it up. I have managed to persist, and they are getting much better at contributing around the house with a lot less complaining. It is a real help. Also, I have had to modify the charts and the methods in order to make it work (I keep simplifying), so being willing to be flexible has been critical to my being able to continue with the charts. (Rather than being obsessed with doing it "right," and it ending up so difficult or unwieldy that I end up giving it up altogether.)

Keep it up, and thanks for the comment and the words of encouragement, Angie!

[Julie Benner]

Thanks for commenting, Bonnie. I always appreciate your thoughtful words of encouragement.

I know now that I will be blogging, although it may be at a slower pace than when I started. It is new for me to be able to rest and reflect for a while, before continuing, staying open to God's prompting...

This has been a real time of growth and expansion, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. A lot of it has been on the inside, and not the kinds of things I was ready to share with the world. Now I am beginning to move forward again. Thanks for visiting, Bonnie!