We have been instilled with a "linear outlook on life" since we were young:

Study hard → get into a good university → find a stable job → get promoted and raise on time → buy a house and get married → retire and retire.

Every step is as clear as a step, and every stage has clear rewards. As long as you follow the steps, your life will rise steadily.

So, we are used to measuring everything with the "progress bar":

• "I've been working hard for three months, why haven't I done it yet?"
• "I study for two hours a day, when will I be able to monetize?"
• "I have been starting a business for half a year and my income has not exceeded my salary. Should I give up?"

We think that as long as we invest time, we will definitely get corresponding returns - just like depositing money in the bank, the interest will be paid on time.

But reality slapped us hard: life is not a smooth rising straight line at all, but a nonlinear curve full of breakpoints, jumps and sudden changes.

You think you are climbing the hill, but in fact you are traveling through the "silence period"

Imagine you are climbing a mountain. For the first 90% of the journey, you are walking through the thick fog, unable to see the top of the mountain or the scenery. You can only walk with your head down, step by step.

You asked the people who were traveling with you: "How far is it?"

No one can answer.

You begin to wonder: Have you taken the wrong path? Is this mountain not there at all?

This is the "silent period" of life - a stage where there seems to be no progress, but in fact there is a quiet accumulation of energy.

Most people choose to give up during the silence period because they mistakenly think that "no results = no progress".

But the truth is: all breakthroughs occur after the silence period .

Just like bamboo, growth is almost impossible in the first four years, but the underground root system has spread to hundreds of square meters. The fifth year rainy season is approaching and it can grow 90 feet in six weeks.

The same goes for your efforts. Those growth that you can't see are happening quietly underground.

Three major traps of linear thinking

Trap 1: Measure "value" with "time"

We always say, "I spent two years on this matter and it should have achieved results."

But the problem is: time is not a measure of value.

Two programmers, working for three years:

• A person who writes similar codes every day has his ability to stop writing;
• A continuous challenge to complex projects has become a technical expert.

Their length of time is the same, but their value varies greatly.

True growth does not depend on how long you have done it, but on how you have done it.

Practice deliberately for 100 hours is better than mechanical repetition for 1000 hours.

Think deeply for 1 hour is better than being inefficient and busy for 10 days.

When you use "time" to measure your efforts, you fall into the trap of "self-touching".

Trap 2: Expecting "Equalized Return"

Linear thinking makes us believe that efforts and rewards are proportional.

If you study for 1 hour today, you should make 1% improvement tomorrow;

10 articles posted this month, and fans should increase by 10,000 next month.

But the reality is: the reward is nonlinear, or even cliff-like .

• You may post 30 articles in a row, with a reading volume of less than 500; the 31st suddenly became popular, bringing 500,000 traffic and 10,000 fans.
• You may have talked about 20 customers and all of them were rejected, and the 21st customer signed a million order.
• You may not have weight changed in three months of fitness, but suddenly lost 8 pounds in the fourth month.

These "jump moments" cannot be predicted or forced. They will only come suddenly after you continue to accumulate.

But if you give up on your 20th client, 30th post, or the third month of fitness, you will never wait for that turning point.

Trap 3: Treat the "process" as "failure"

In a linear model, no result is failure.

Therefore, every time "no feedback", "no growth", and "no breakthrough" is interpreted by you as "I can't do it".

You began to doubt yourself: "Is it not suitable for this path?" "Is it because I am not capable enough?" "Is it time to change directions?"

But in fact, these "blank periods" are precisely the most critical stages of growth.

Neuroscience research shows that the brain will have a clear "platform period" when learning new skills. On the surface, there is no progress, but in fact, the neurons are reconnecting to prepare for the next jump.

True growth often happens where you can’t see it.

Four characteristics of nonlinear life

1. Breakthrough is "momentary", but preparation is "long"

Behind all the seemingly "one-night fame" is the accumulation of silent for several years.

• Li Jiaqi became popular in live streaming sales because he had been a lipstick shopping guide for 5 years and tried nearly 100,000 colors.
• Liu Cixin wrote "The Three-Body Problem" because he insisted on science fiction creation for more than 20 years, and almost no one knew about it in the first decade.
• Zhang Songwen became a top actor because he lived in the urban village of Beijing for 10 years, playing a supporting role, being an extra, and studying role details.

Their success does not happen suddenly, but a "critical point breakthrough" after long-term accumulation.

Just like when the water is heated to 99 degrees, it is still liquid, and it boils until 100 degrees. The last degree seemed small, but actually relied on the continuous heating of the previous 99 degrees.

2. Growth is "jumping", not "constant speed"

The improvement of human abilities has never been about 1% improvement every day, but about "long-term stagnation + sudden jump".

You may have been hovering at the same level for several months, and one day you suddenly "get up" and understand a core concept, and then you will upgrade your overall cognition.

This "epiphany moment" cannot be planned, but it can create conditions for it to happen:

• Continuously input high-quality information;
• Think about problems from multiple angles;
• Leave "digesting time" to the brain.

"Don't try to be a successful person, but try to be a valuable person," Einstein said.

When you focus on value creation, leaps will naturally occur.

3. The rewards are "concentrated" and not "dispersed"

80% of the results often come from 20% of key actions.

You may have done 100 things, and only 1 of them brings 90% of the benefits.

for example:

• A blogger wrote 200 articles, and only 3 of them brought 90% of their fans;
• An entrepreneur developed 10 products, and only one achieved profitability;
• A salesman made 1,000 calls, and only 5 customers contributed their main results.

If you only focus on the "average return", you will misjudgment the overall progress.

The core of nonlinear thinking is to accept the reality that "the minority determines the majority" and continue to increase the probability of "critical actions".

4. The path is "twirl", not "straight"

No one can go through his life on the preset route.

Change careers, failures, accidents, opportunities... these "detours" are the norm.

• After dropping out of school at university, Jobs went to India to practice, but later said that this experience made him realize the "beauty of simplicity" and influenced Apple's product design.
• Haruki Murakami originally ran a bar and started writing at the age of 30, but he believes that it was his experience in running a bar that taught him to deal with people, manage time and face setbacks.

Those seemingly unrelated experiences will eventually be connected to a line at a certain node.

How to live a nonlinear life?

1. Give up “progress bar thinking” and establish “system thinking”

Don't ask again: "When will I succeed?"

Instead, ask: "Am I running a system that produces results?"

• Writing is not about "what day is popular", but about establishing a creative system of "daily output + feedback optimization";
• Starting a business is not for "quick listing", but for building a commercial system of "user insight + product iteration + value delivery";
• Learning is not for "graduate exams", but for creating a cognitive system of "input-thinking-output".

When you have a system, the result is just a by-product.

2. Accept "uncertainty" and embrace "possibility"

Linear thinking pursues certainty: as long as A, you can B.

Nonlinear thinking accepts uncertainty: A may occur in B, but may also lead to C, D, or even Z.

What you have to do is not control the results, but increase the "positive possibility".

The method is very simple:

• Try more;
• Multiple connections;
• Share more.

Every attempt is expanding your "possibility space".

One day, two seemingly unrelated points will suddenly connect, creating huge value.

3. Pay attention to "qualitative change signals" rather than "quantitative change data"

Don’t just look at the superficial data such as the number of fans, income, and reading volume.

Pay more attention to those signals that indicate "qualitative change":

• Is there any user who actively recommends you?
• Is anyone willing to pay for you?
• Have any colleagues started imitating you?
• Are there any strangers moved by your content?

These signals are more important than data because they mean you are creating real value.

4. Redefine “failure” as “data collection”

In the linear model, failure is the end point.

In nonlinear systems, failure is necessary feedback.

Every "unsuccessful" attempt tells you:

• This direction doesn't work;
• This method needs to be adjusted;
• This user group does not match.

Treat these as data, not judgments.

"If you haven't failed, it means you're not innovative enough," Elon Musk said.

Because only by constantly trying and error can the optimal solution be approached.

Conclusion: Only by embracing nonlinearity can you see infinite possibilities

We always want to draw a clear upward line for life, but real growth is more like the growth process of a seed:

It will not tell you every day, "I grew 1 mm tall" nor will it promise "sprouting in three days and blooming in seven days".

It just silently takes root, absorbs, waits for the opportunity, and then breaks out of the ground one morning.

The same is true for your dreams.

Don’t ask “how long will it take”, don’t calculate “input-output ratio”, and don’t doubt yourself because of the short-term fruitlessness.

Please believe: all your efforts have not been in vain.

They are weaving their roots underground, waiting for a spring rain, and then-

Go up, break the ground, and live in the light.

Life is not linear, so don’t trap yourself with straight thinking.

Only by embracing nonlinearity can you see that unique and unique leap path that belongs to you.