This Simple Rule of Nature Might Be Killing Your Progress

Just when you think you’re making strides, there’s a reason you come back down to Earth

Alexander M. Combstrong
Forge

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Photo: Three Images/Getty Images

So, you’ve tried something new to make your life better, and it worked. You’re happy. Maybe even on Cloud 9. You’re nailing this.

And then three weeks later, you’re disappointed and confused about why your success didn’t last and why it’s not working again. It was so good, and now you’re right back where you were. Why does this happen?

The problem is there’s a rule of nature that works in life as well as it does in statistics, and it feels like it’s holding you back. In statistics, it’s called regression to the mean, but in life where personal change is concerned, we can think of it as regression to the norm.

Basically, it’s this: we do something new and it looks like we’ve made real change. But actually, it’s just an outlier moment that feels like true change in that moment, and then before we know it, we’ve regressed to our norm. Our normal thinking patterns, behaviour patterns and levels of happiness. It’s as if how we’ve always been has a magnetic pull, pulling us back to the old, normal us, even after we think we’ve made a breakthrough.

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Alexander M. Combstrong
Forge

Research-backed ways to change your life for the better. Out now: The Confident Introvert’s Handbook. Actor/screenwriter. Forge, Better Humans, Mind Cafe.