What We Must Never Forget In the Arena

The arena can be an overwhelming place. You have fans, supporters, naysayers, haters, enemies, friends, and families. You have those who are shouting at you and telling you what you should or shouldn't do. You have those around you who sit silently and watch you rise or fall while they internally take assessment of you and your decisions.

There are distractions, things or people who try to take your awareness away from being in the arena. It would better serve them if you take your eye off the ball and focus on them and their products, life, choices, problems, decisions, etc., so that you have the illusion you are perhaps winning or losing while neither, or the opposite, is actually true, dopamine traps.

At the end of the day, being in the arena is a challenge. It can overwhelm the senses. It can feel chaotic. At times, it can be peaceful, and at times, it can be a war zone. You can feel motivated today and feel like quitting tomorrow. It can feel as though nothing is changing or nothing is working in your favor, and on the other hand, you could quickly rack up some wins and feel invincible.

I believe the truth is there is no clear distinction in the arena that tells you that you have reached your destination. That clear distinction can only be determined by you. However, in order to get some clarity, there is one thing, and the only thing, I believe we must all never forget while we are in the arena.

We must never give up.

I read something today that reminded me of that.

I read an article on Substack from The Unintuitive by BOSS, and it spoke of the compounding effect. I think for most people, when we hear compounding, we think of finance, as we think of compound interest, the interest we earn on what we put in originally and the interest or original money already earned. It is a snowball effect that requires very little of us other than that we are consistent and allow the interest to compound.

Basically, the article reminds us that success and progress in life are reliant, to a degree, on compounding. Going to the gym every day is how you get better fitness results. Eating healthy regularly is how you develop better eating habits and improve your health. Writing every day is how you get better at writing.

When you understand compounding, this all makes sense. However, many of us fail to allow compounding to take place because we are inconsistent, do not get the instant feedback we desire, and rely too heavily on instant gratification. I think it’s funny for me that I have always understood the idea of compounding but have struggled with allowing compounding to work for me. I have struggled with the same exact things I mentioned we all do.

In the age of quick results and feedback and attention, it is easy for our perception of action and success to become diluted. It requires an effort to first even see the dilution and then to make an effort to correct it and to determine for yourself what you need to build the foundation of what you desire to achieve and the disciplined actions and consistency needed to allow the compounding effect to work its magic and the snowball to keep snowballing.

The effort required is a challenge. What makes it harder is that the effect of compounding is invisible to see. Like many things, you don't see it until you see it. You don't see the weight you lose or the muscle you build every time you go to the gym. You don't see the ounces you lose or can lift build until it totals 30 pounds.

How can you see the effect of something that can be so minutely incremental in its growth at the beginning but then can be a whopping "lucky" reward or blessing months, even years, down the road? How do you stay on the path or, better yet, get back on when you get off?

The only thing I have ever come up with is that you can never give up. You have to, at the bare minimum, keep showing up.