You don’t feel like you’re improving, and the results you see aren’t improving. You start to lose faith in what you’re doing. This usually occurs in the middle of the road, after the honeymoon phase is over and all you have is your daily routine. This is when the rubber meets the road, and when most of the permanent gains are made. You can’t see it though. You can’t see that you are making gains, because the gains don’t manifest in the same way they did in the first two phases. No. In this phase you are practicing without proof.
You’re putting in the time, but you can’t tell if it’s worth it. You’re putting in the reps, but you can’t tell if you’re getting better. This is when the people who are doing it for the extrinsic rewards give up and quit. This is when the people who are doing it for the intrinsic rewards dig in and go to work. This is when you find out if your Why is strong enough to carry you through the hard part. This is when you find out if your habits are strong enough to carry you through the dark times.
This is when you find out if you’re strong enough to carry you through the times when you aren’t sure if it’s working. This is when you find out if you have the discipline to practice without proof. It isn’t fun, but it is necessary. It isn’t fun, but it is worth it. Because when you can practice without proof, you can accomplish anything. When you can put in the work when you don’t know if it’s working, you can overcome anything.
When you can trust the process enough to practice without proof, you can achieve greatness. This is the secret to mastery. This is the secret to success. This is the secret to achievement. This is the secret to discipline.