Nobody Warned me about the Hump
Working Storm can be explained as a series of many ups and downs over the years. Photo by Kayleigh of Raw Photography Images
You know how it goes: you set a goal, start working on it in earnest, make a little progress, and then BAM all the sudden things get hard, and you quit, discouraged, frustrated and resentful of yet again failing.
There is not anything that I have found that doesn’t follow this trajectory.
The difference is when you know The Hump is coming, you can prepare for it.
And here’s the other sneaky thing: I’m also very sure that you’ve gotten over The Hump many times in your life already. It might be learning a craft, or playing music. It may be working on repairing something, or learning a new sport. Whatever it is, there are times in your life when The Hump has come and gone, and you’ve kept going.
It happens with our pets, too. We set out with a new goal in mind, be that agility, learning to ride our horses, or just wanting to build more confidence with our cat or dog. And we begin to practice, and all the sudden things go sideways. And then it’s easier to find excuses to avoid it - I’m busy, I’m tired, it’s hot…. - than it is to do The Thing.
So the trick becomes where can you find the place in your life that you’ve already overcome The Hump before, and apply that to where ever your next goal is? Where have you stuck with something long enough to get past that the ‘why is this more difficult than when I started’ point in order to get to the ‘it’s easier’ point? There are no doubt places where you have done this before.
It might already be with your pet - through a training challenge or behavior problem. It could be a skill you already have, like crafting, fitness, or even managing your diet or health. Somewhere along the way, you’ve been successful, and no matter where that is, you can apply that to your next goal.
This follows along the 1% idea: if you are only looking to be 1% better than yesterday, then it becomes easy to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But even at 1% some days just 1% will feel like a mountain to climb. You’ll feel like you’re back sliding, and you won’t want to get up and do The Thing.
But now that you know about The Hump, you can face it, and smile because you know that what’s on the other side will be so much more ease and the progress will feel light again. So whether you’re struggling with your pet’s behavior, riding challenges with your horse, or even something like your diet - use the awareness of The Hump to be ready for it, and resolve to stick with it despite the chaos and “lack of progress” that you are seeing. Once you get past it, you’ll be so glad you didn’t quit.
