Tag / absolute vs. relative

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Absolute vs. Relative Progress

The image is a split view: on the left, a man dressed in casual attire jumps energetically mid-air up a staircase, mirroring the relaxed man on the right who is walking up the same steps. Both men wear similar outfits, emphasizing the contrast between their dynamic and calm demeanors.

Your health, wealth, and relationships depend on understanding these two things…

There is an important difference between absolute and relative progress.

Here are my definitions of each.

Absolute progress is the total progress over time.

Relative progress is the total progress in a set time-frame or compared to something else.

There are benefits to each.

Absolute progress is celebrated in prodigious creators. Someone like Seth Godin who has published his daily blog every day for decades. You build muscles & reputation with that kind of consistency.

Relative progress is like the programmer working double-time to ship something out the door. For example, MFM discussed the 1 person who quickly created an app called UMax that has made him millions of dollars after noticing a trend on reddit.

Different situations. Both created value.

And depending on the activity, one can be superior to the other.

Health, relationships, and many wealth strategies all depend on absolute effort. You deadlift 405lbs after staying up all night working on it. You cannot build long-term trust with your spouse from writing one great love letter. You don’t shred on guitar overnight. These things take time and consistency.

Some communication scenarios and certain projects benefit from relative progress. The timing of an important conversation needs to move to the top of the to-do list sometimes. So might shipping a product improvement after getting customer feedback.

You may have a tendency towards one strategy over another.

I have a tendency towards absolute progress. I love it. It helps me stay fit, and never miss a day of work. But there are times when I need to giddy-up and clear the calendar to make relative progress on something time sensitive. A couple businesses I’ve started may have seen the light of day with a short burst of intensity to get it off the ground.

The key is to know which form you have a tendency towards and recognize when certain situations call for the other.

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