The little drops of rain

A quick note before we begin…

Hey friends! Apologies for the sudden hiatus, I didn’t plan to take a break but a combination of writer’s block, demotivation, taking care of my mental health, amongst other things got in the way. I will require some grace to mess up and not be perfect, as I learn to navigate and manage this space through seasons and phases like the aforementioned, as well as better define the kind of content I would like to produce. Love you all!

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I want to share a thought I have been pondering on over the last few months, so today’s piece is going to be something light and reflective. That thought is this; “the little drops of rain add up”, in relation to progress made in small amounts, but consistently, over time. This ‘epiphany’ came to me through my ongoing experience of self-studying the Japanese language.

I always used to wonder to myself how on Earth I would ever be able to read and write hiragana, katakana, and kanji (the Japanese writing systems), characters which are so far removed from the English alphabet and Romance languages. It was a daunting feat and, quite frankly, seemed impossible. Nevertheless, I began studying, taking it one day at a time and then, before I knew it, I was suddenly capable of reading and writing these very characters! Mind you, I’m still very much a beginner and have a long way to go. The point is, I went from being able to do absolutely nothing in Japanese one day, to now being able to do a fair good amount.

Quick musing:

Even if you only have 5-10 minutes a day to dedicate to the tasks / goals / projects you’re working on, you’re still making progress, and your effort is valid. Consistency is more important than the specific amount of time spent, though of course, that’s not to say we shouldn’t dedicate sufficient time to the things we need to accomplish as required.

Take exercise for example; I’m sure you’ve heard that it is more beneficial to exercise for 15 minutes several times a week, than to go weeks or months without exercising and then suddenly do a 2 hour gym session!

I think the realisation that I had suddenly gone from zero to able surprised me all the more because of how imperfect my studying journey had been (and still is, if I’m being honest). I put in varying amounts of effort every day, with some days seeing me study for only 5 minutes. Yet, even with these droplets of effort, I made a decent amount of progress, and can now do things which I previously couldn’t imagine myself doing.

So, the final thought I want to leave you with is this; no effort, however little, ever goes to waste. Instead of focusing on the scale of the challenge and on the long road ahead of whatever task you have on your plate, focus on the individual, daily steps you can take. One day you’ll look back like I did, just to find that all those little efforts have accumulated to make a huge difference, and you have made more significant progress than you thought.

xoxo