THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS
We confuse learning with progress.
Let me ask you: How many podcasts have you listened to in the past year?
Now, how much of that knowledge have you actually used?
And yet, we drown in knowledge but starve for action.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an avid learner. I thought learning meant progress. And then I remember myself as a kid - curious about the world around me, completely uninterested in “knowledge.”
Did I even think about learning as learning back then? Or was it all just experience?
I’m not sure why, but we tend to forget how we were as children. It takes effort to see the world that way again. And when we try, we meet resistance.
What is it that keeps us stuck in learning so much and doing so little?
Let’s find out.
image by Oliver Paaske
WHY LEARNING FEELS LIKE PROGRESS
We become philosophical about this. We can see it from many different angles, daydream about success, and brainwash ourselves into believing that we are making huge progress while, in reality, we keep looping around the same post over and over.
As children, we took the majority of "failures" personally. As we kept on exploring, each failed attempt started to draw an invisible boundary around our curiosity.
Have you heard of the expression - living in the box?
That’s the box.
Don’t get me wrong—some of those boundaries were real, and they served a purpose: helping us avoid bruises, cuts, or even broken bones. But that wasn’t what created those more profound limitations. It was that voice in our head that did, amplified by the voices of our parents, partners in crime, and neighborhood bullies, all combined.
Fast-forward to today - those voices are still "real." We replay them in our heads without even realizing it. Those voices act as failure safeguards; they guide us through life so we don't step on shit that would trigger negative reactions from people around us.
But times have changed. Each of us is dealing with our own echoes from the past while not paying too much attention to what goes on in others.
As a consequence, we start avoiding failure and, as a defense mechanism - overpreparing ourselves.
We tell ourselves, “I just need to learn more, so there is 0% chance I will fail and therefore embarrass myself in the eyes of other people.”
In addition, learning feels productive in itself. It's a cheap dopamine loop that tells us that we are already walking the path of change and are making huge progress.
You see, there are layers on top of layers.
We are trapped in our own mind, which is still functioning as it did in 1992.
We are living inside an up-to-date hardware that is running on Windows 3.1.
And you know what?
We are able to update that software at any moment.
HOW TO BREAK THE CYCLE
How do we finally break free?
Well, let me disappoint you...
There is no shortcut or quick fix, but you probably know that already.
You have to do the work.
What nobody tells you about it, though, is that you need to be smart about it and take smaller steps than usual. Patience and persistence is the key.
Because, you see, our brains are wired in specific patterns, and you can't forcefully change them. Well, you can, but it will not be sustainable. That will be just another "Just Do It, Bro!" quick fix, after which will come the fallback.
By doing the actual work, you are building new neural pathways. As you build them, there seems to be a point where it feels like nothing changes for a while, then suddenly things fall into place, and everything becomes more effortless.
That is patience and persistence in action.
So, again, how do we get there?
SEEING THE LOOP FOR WHAT IT IS
For most of us, life happens on autopilot. We are slaves to the script that is being played in our heads. Again, we can change that script, but it starts with self-awareness.
You know how children, when they reach a certain age, are asking question after question?
"What is that? Why this way? What will happen if...?"
There is genuine curiosity towards the external world. It is new and undiscovered.
Once we discover it, though, questions will subside.
We "know everything". Life becomes predictable and familiar.
After a while, we realize that there is an absolute wonderland inside of us that we haven’t yet tapped into.
Since that is where all the uncontrollable storms are happening, we should direct the same questions inward - "What is that? Why this way? What will happen if...?"
By asking yourself questions, you start to see your own patterns at play and distinguish between what’s real and what's made up by your conditioned mind. Once you notice them, they start to loosen their grip over you.
Don't get me wrong. It is not about changing your thoughts and patterns; that change will start to happen automatically. It is simply about observing.
Try this - Every morning, after waking up, sit quietly for 5 minutes. No phone, no distractions, just you and your thoughts. Observe them, see what's going on inside, and be curious. Set a timer if necessary, or let it flow as long as it feels right.
Again, there is no quick fix. Just patience and persistence.
Chances are you won't notice anything the first morning you sit, and maybe even the whole first week will feel like pointless, uncomfortable silence.
Give it a time.
After some time, you will start to recognize various repeating patterns. If you take a closer look, all of them appear like loops we are circling. Again, you do not have to do anything: just observe. By observing, you will become aware of those loops. Once you become aware of something, it starts to loosen its grip on you.
So, patience and persistence.
Once you start recognizing your patterns, you’ll notice something: The real reason you’re stuck isn’t a lack of knowledge - it’s a lack of action.
And to fix that, you need to flip the script on how you approach learning.
90/10 FRAMEWORK
By consuming theory alone, you don’t actually learn that much—it doesn’t rewire your brain.
Our brains retain around 7-10% of the information we consume.
Have you noticed that every time you watch your favorite movie or reread a book, you discover something new?
This should tell you everything about how impactful consumption is.
Practical learning makes big leaps. Only by diving into action first, will you discover what knowledge you actually need.
So, flipping the script and not rationalizing is a solid start:
Run, then go gear shopping
Write, then dive into the grammar and frameworks
Work, then learn about productivity and time management
Once you act, obstacles become clear. Those obstacles then point to where you lack knowledge. This is where we can benefit from some sort of framework, and 90/10 is a great start.
What does it mean?
Well, in plain English - 90% of action is followed by 10% of theory.
Obviously, these numbers are just that, numbers. What counts is that you DO considerably more than CONSUME. And by doing, I don’t mean push as hard as you can. Remember, there is that resistance at play.
So, be smart about it and start small:
1-2km run
5-10 minutes of writing
30-minute working blocks (pomodoro method)
It is by doing first that we turn procrastination into momentum. Once that momentum becomes natural, start increasing the challenge until you find your sweet spot.
What's left is to keep that momentum.
MAKING ACTION INEVITABLE
Going public breeds accountability.
Accountability, on the other hand, breeds success.
Be it your friend, family or local community, you can find support anywhere.
Thanks to the internet, we live in a time of seamless interconnectivity. Chances are you can find groups of total strangers who are on a similar path. Engage in them, be active. It really does wonders once you are able to connect and motivate each other to stay accountable.
Many people avoid public commitment because of the fear of failing publicly. But here’s the thing - nobody cares as much as you think they do. If anything, people respect those who are willing to put themselves out there. And when you fail (because you will), it’s a chance to show resilience rather than perfection.
And if you do fail publicly, will it really matter in 5 years? Heck, try remembering your most embarrassing failures you faced even a year ago. They won’t hold the same weight once time has passed.
I’ve experienced this firsthand when I decided to level up my social skills...
A year ago, even small talk with strangers made me uncomfortable. Obviously, the real reason I wanted to improve myself was so I could meet women whenever and wherever I wanted.
I went through all kinds of uncomfortable emotions during my time of practice. But I kept at it.
And you know why?
Because I met like-minded guys with the same level of curiosity and resilience, even though each of us was in a different time zone, we figured we could hop on a Zoom call and be there for each other.
That's the power of community and the internet.
Today I don't remember most of my failures from that time, and the ones I do, they don't sting nearly as hard anymore. In a sentence, it doesn’t matter now.
So, get out there and make use of these tools. Start small if it makes you uncomfortable.
After a while, looking back at it won’t seem like such a big deal. And soon, you’ll wonder why you ever hesitated.
YOU ALREADY KNOW ENOUGH
You already know what you need to do.
Pick one thing you’ve been overlearning and start taking action today - before reading or watching anything else.
Need accountability? Comment below with what you’re going to start.
If this resonates with you, share it with someone who is stuck in a learning loop. They might need it more than you think.
Thank you for reading.
