"The honeymoon phase of new endeavours ends sooner than expected but lasts longer than the sting of the initial disappointment as a memory of sorts."
I mean, it's a bit of a paradox that "things", for the lack of a better term, that end sooner can also have this ability to keep echoing in our minds long after the excitement disappears, almost like a small emotional residue that refuses to fade.
My precious memory..
We start a new project, say a business or writing a novel and for a brief moment, our enthusiasm traces a perfect, straight line upward and we seem to see the destination clearly.
And then, inevitably, we hit the curve. A rather huge drop from the easy momentum of the beginning to the slow grind of actual progress.
Mathematics of disappointment, of sorts
[Source: Substack]
If you look at the graph of the Plateau of Latent Potential, you see two lines.
What we think should happen: A linear, predictable climb.
What actually happens: A slow, agonizingly flat curve that only shoots up after a long delay.
The "honeymoon phase" lives in that tiny sliver of time at the very beginning, before the two lines diverge and ends the moment Reality (the curve) drops below Expectation (the straight line), creating the "Valley of Disappointment."
In this valley, you are working hard, but the results aren't showing as expected previously. The scale hasn't moved, bank account hasn't grown, writing feels stale etc.
By all practical metrics, the endeavour has failed to launch.
Memory as fuel
However, this is also where getting a philosophical angle becomes practical. Why do we keep going when we are deep in the valley?
Sometimes, it is because of that memory of the honeymoon. The initial vision of effortless success could as well be just a preview of a timeline that hasn't arrived yet.
Practically, we can use the memory of our initial excitement to discipline ourselves when motivation evaporates via the friction of the mundane.
When the "newness" fades, we must rely on concrete mechanics to keep that memory alive:
Trust the lag time: Reminder that results are often delayed measures of habits. The work one does today in the "valley" is storing energy for a payoff weeks/months/years from now.
Measure inputs, not outputs: Since the curve is flat (no results), good idea to stop measuring results. Measure adherence to the routine. That is the only straight line one can control.
Crossing the latent gap
The danger of the honeymoon phase is that we mistake it for the journey itself, thinking the feeling of starting is the feeling of succeeding. It isn't.
Starting feels like a straight line.
Succeeding looks like a hockey stick curve.
The gap between them is where many people quit. They abandon the memory of the start because the reality of the middle is too quiet.
But if you understand this graph, you realize that much of the work isn't being wasted in the valley as it is stored as potential energy waiting to become kinetic.
When you finally hit the breakthrough, people will commonly call it an "overnight success," missing the months or years spent surviving the plateau.
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