Situational Psychology - 2) Easy Situations

As we move into new areas, we can be surprised by how quickly we can make progress. Fortunately, I encountered this seemingly happy situation more than once in my past. In these “easy” situations, we are both excited and a little uncomfortable with our success. When we make progress faster than we expect, most of us are tempted to throttle back. Why? An “easy” situation is one where conditions are “easy,” but the work required is difficult. This may sound like a contradiction but bear with me.

As humans, we can adapt to new conditions, but all change requires mental work. Unfortunately, our brains are naturally lazy (see this article). We seek to develop routines that minimize work. However, we can only develop habits by doing the same things over and over. The problem is that, when we continue moving forward in “easy” situations, the conditions change too quickly to develop routines. We must continually digest new information and develop new methods.

The result is that most of us slow down. Why? We want to get comfortable with the new area before moving on, feeling satisfied with our progress. I have encountered this reaction every time that I have been in an “easy” situation. Most of us see no reason to press on. We get weary of change. Some of us might imagine that the favorable conditions will continue forever. So, there is no need to rush. Only a small percentage of people press on despite the work. They are scorned as the one percenters. The rest fail because they do not to move with the situation. Easy situations continue, but they don’t stay in the same place.

What does that mean? Let me illustrate one of my own experiences.