The Operation Was a Success, But the Patient Died: How Progress Holds Us Back.
Note: I mentioned this blog post in my YouTube video, The Virtual Reality of a Binary World. Check it out if you haven’t seen it already
We’ve come a long way.
Thanks to evolution, revolution, inventions, changed perceptions and higher thinking we’re not what we used to be. We’re faster, more comfortable, more knowledgeable, less fearful, and safer as a result of all the progress we’ve made as a species and as inhabitants of this place that other brains have labeled “Earth”.
We have the momentum to keep moving, keep pushing, keep discovering, keep educating, and keep thinking our way to more and better. In fact, right now as I’m writing this article, CERN, an organization made of world-renowned physicists and other scientists, is actively working to discover other dimensions and to figure out exactly which elements came together to create us and our universe (unless your beliefs already told you how everything was created so if that’s the case, CERN is full of sh*t).
In addition, Chinese researchers have just created a quantum CPU that calculates in 1.2 hours what it would take today’s fastest supercomputer 8 years to accomplish!!
We’re on our way. Let’s go, go, go!!
As a participant in this race to the “finish line”, I have a question.
Where are we going?
Where will we be once we are bigger, better, smarter, and faster? What’s the goal of living longer, colonizing Mars, ensuring the survival of our progeny, and creating AI that can do everything we cannot do?
What’s it all for?
Where will all of that take us?
To be honest, I’m not running nearly as fast as everyone else and I’m already exhausted, so I need answers.
In my first book, I explain what finally led me to ask simple, but fundamental, questions.
Exhaustion.
I was tired. Tired of trying to be this, live up to that, excel here, improve there, get better soon, and be happy…eventually.
As a believer in progress and improvement, I had questions. What’s the goal of this progress and improvement?
Yes, we are progressing. We are moving. We’re getting from point A to point B but how far far have we actually gone? And how close are we to the goal?
Am I absolutely sure I’ve progressed? Am I better than I was yesterday? If so, how? Where am I now? Where was I before?
To answer these questions, let’s examine the definition, function, and usefulness of progress?
Simply stated, progress (verb) is forward movement in space and time.
If you buy into this definition then we are progressing the second we are born into the world.
Every ant, aardvark, human, rock, tree and titmouse is currently moving forward in space and time as you are reading these words! (fyi, a titmouse is a small bird; see photo below)
Progress (noun) is the same forward movement but toward a destination. This is where “improvement” takes center stage.
When our destination is fixed…then we become runners and track stars.
A F.A.S.T Diagram (image below) is a tool I use in my value analysis work. F.A.S.T stands for Function Analysis System Technique. These diagrams help to articulate the why (the purpose/need) and the how (the concrete real-world steps to achieve the need/purpose).
Function tells us what something is “for” vs. a definition which tells us what something is.
With F.A.S.T or Funtion analysis you get to the “how” of a concept by continuously asking, “how do you do that”. You get to the “why” of a concept by continuously asking, “why do you do that”?
When we think about our lives the only thing we DON’T lack is time to get better. To improve who we are, where we are, how others see us, etc., we need tools and other people to help us.
We need a vehicle that can take us away from our current place to a different, better place.
Here are the typical destinations (at least in American culture) that many of us feel will make us better, or more valuable, useful, relevant, and worthy of occupying this present space and time:
- “to be married before…”
- “to get divorced before…”
- “to be a millionaire before …”,
- “to become a minimalist by…”
- “to get certified in_____ by…”
- “to get out of this relationship before…”
- “to re-connect with _________ before…”
- “to move out of my parent’s home by…”,
- “to move my parents in with me before…”
- “to lose weight by…”
- “to run a marathon before…”
- “to get stronger by…”
- “to get a job at ______ by…”
- “to quit my job at______before…”
- “to change____by…”
- “to stop _______by…”
- “to start _______by..”
- “to get ______by…”
- “to own______by…”
- “to feel ______by…”
- “to become_______by…”
As you know, the list of desires and destinations is endless because something is always missing, not quite right, not enough, not clearly understood or not known. So how do we get to these destinations…progress and improvement?
WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF PROGRESS?
I started to do a F.A.S.T diagram for progress but as I was working through it, I realized it was too “nondual” and would probably make zero sense to you in this discussion, so I invite you to do a F.A.S.T diagram to determine, from your perspective, the purpose (why) of “Progress” and steps to reach that purpose (how).
You can see the diagram I completed in my “Everyone deserves an epiphany” Patreon tier if you’re ever inclined to explore further.
PROGRESS AS THE GOAL?
When/if you discover the function of progress, you’ll see that the goal, function or purpose of movement in space and time (a.k.a. progress), cannot be “to progress” or “to improve”. That’s like saying the goal of eating is to eat, or defining the color red as, “something that’s red”.
The function of progress isn’t even to achieve a goal or to improve!! (do the diagram and see for yourself)
In reality, progress is an accelerant. It’s a state or situation that helps us go faster, reach higher and accomplish now!
I know that sounds strange, but think of it this way.
What’s the purpose of brakes on a car? To slow us down? No.
Brakes help us go faster! Brakes help us maneuver strategically and without injuring ourselves or others. Brakes allow us to plan, test, then accelerate!
Without brakes, we’d be too cautious to do anything daring. We’d travel at a snail’s pace to avoid hitting anything or overshooting our destination.
Think of the position you are in now as the “brakes” in the situation. This is the time to revv your engine. It’s the time to double-check your GPS, tighten your seatbelt and GO!
I’ve created a formula of self-awareness or “Leading Self” that Iwill share very soon on a strategy to recognize where you are now as a strategic pause.
In a nutshell, it’s a list of all the things that we must un-do to see progress as the springboard to winning now!
And I know that it works because I was the crash test dummy that tried, tried and tried again, until everything clicked.
Stay tuned.
