Are You Falling Into The TFT?
August 4, 2008
“You Won’t Help Shoots Grow By Pulling Them Up Higher” Chinese Proverb
It’s great to have huge ambitious goals. But sometimes, it’s easy to get so carried away in our enthusiasm, that we fall into the TFT (Too Fast Trap). Instead of starting a business and growing it steadily, we want to do $1 million in sales in the first year. And instead of losing weight gradually, we want to drop two dress sizes in a week.
And I often wonder whether some of us are more prone to the TFT than others. I know I’ve watched people around me fall into the TFT before, then I’ve gone one to make exactly the same mistake myself.
Take Israel over at Fat Man Unleashed. He was doing really well on his weight loss campaign. Trouble was, he had fallen into the TFT trap. He wanted to lose too much weight too fast. I left a comment to tell him so, then a few months later, I did exactly the same thing.
Why do we do that? Maybe we delude ourselves into thinking that our way is better. Luckily, after the first few weeks, I read this post by Israel, announcing that he’d gained 16 pounds of the weight he’d lost and I realised I’d fallen into the TFT trap and needed to slow down.
Having huge goals is wonderful, but when we want things too quickly, it’s easy to set ourselves up for disappointment. And that disappointment can make it more difficult to stay motivated.
Have you ever fallen into the TFT trap? What do you think causes us to want to achieve our goals in an unrealistic time scale?
Comments
16 Responses to “Are You Falling Into The TFT?”
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Successful And Outstanding Blogger
Yes I have. The trap is all too familiar, luring us into it’s murky debts and once we are suckered into it, we will find it hard to get out again.
Nice post Cath, I think we all ought to stop every now in a while and take things a lot more slowly.
-ohm
Simp.list.tic Zen’s last blog post..Pay Homage To Your Body
Hi Catherine,
That’s an easy trap to fall into. Often we want instant gratification. By being realistic, we can avoid the trap and learn to enjoy the journey as we grow a business, lose weight at a steady pace, or whatever.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..FEFF – Feeling The Joy
I think it’s human nature. I’m getting better at delaying gratification as I get older. But it’s still not easy.
Vered’s last blog post..So, Another Guest Post
When I started my first business everyone told me it would take five years to reach full profitability. I disagreed (as did most of my colleagues) thinking that I could do it faster and better (after all, hadn’t I seen a whole bunch of success stories of people who’d done it quickly?).
I changed directions after the end of three years, because I realized it would indeed take two more years to get where I wanted to be and I wasn’t passionate enough about my business to wait that long.
My colleagues who started in the Professional Organizing business at the same time as me are now after five years hitting their stride and are fully successful (those that have lasted, that is – which isn’t a whole lot).
My fiction writing career, I’ve given 20 years to reach my goals. Two years into it, I’m more or less where I thought I would be and am comfortable with the longterm plan still.
Now as I launch an internet-based program, I’ll have to remember that success takes time and not to rush things – last time I just ended up spending too much money on the business which in the long run caused the profitability point to move farther away…
Thanks for reminding me about this!
Cheers,
Alex
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..Expanding Tastes
Definitely fallen into the TFT.
I am exceedingly frustrated. When I should be pleased we’ve made good progress on the business relaunch.
I thought it wouldn’t matter about reputation – but we did need to prove ourselves again. I think we’ve done that, but it doesn’t mean instant results.
Need to learn to be patient and stick to the course we’ve set, and enjoying small but steady improvements rather than a huge leap forward.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Celebrate The End Of The Credit Crunch And Get A Free Laptop For Your Business – No Catch
@ Ian:
I hear you on the frustration. And on top of that there’s envy. When we see others doing well, we think: how come we’re not there? What do they have that I don’t have?
Intellectually, I know that everyone is on their own path and negative comparisons just bring negativity, but that voice that says “the world’s unfair!” is a pretty strong one at times, though…
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..Expanding Tastes
FABULOUS POST!
I recently had a client who launched a new blog. She informed me that the blog had 6 months to become profitable. SIX MONTHS! That’s just NOT a realistic expectation!
I blame the Get Rich Quick Internet Marketing crowd.
I was staying at a hotel recently and there was a beautiful navy blue Bentley parked across from me. I thought about posing for a picture featuring me resting my ample rump on the car. Then I could put up a Get Rich Quick site and use that photo as “proof” of my success. (Most of those idiots take pictures of themselves sitting on a low end BMW or Mercedes!)
Whether it’s weight loss or business, slow and steady DEFINITELY wins the race!
Kathy’s last blog post..A Day in the Life of a Designer
This is a great article, Cath, and one new entrepreneurs should take to heart.
I’ve been lucky in business. I’ve learned from my brother (who is 9 years older than me and owns a business) many things, one of which he preached to me about growing a new business at a certain rate.
I have a saying: “baby steps.”
This topic hits on your company’s reputation. If you try to build something too fast and “get rich quickly,” you run the risk of screwing things up for customers or making them wait too long for their service which in turn can hurt your new reputation. Don’t hit the market with a bad buzz to start.
John Hoff – eVentureBiz’s last blog post..2 Keys To Beating Your Competition In Business
Yes I have fallen into this trap. I didn’t have enough money set aside to support me while I was developing the business. So, I was understandably anxious to see some progress. In hindsight, I realized the business was not my passion anyway. So, I lived, and I learned… the hard way
davina’s last blog post..Look Ma, I Can Fly!
This is so appropriate for what I’m doing right now (opening my own school)…I can say that I haven’t had the TFT yet because this project has been 15 years in the making. I hope that I stay cautios and reasonable.
chris’s last blog post..Trust
Even spiritual growth can fall into the, “too fast trap.”
Some of the most meaningful and rewarding things in life require the most effort. Is it then any surprise that the things that give us the greatest rewards often demand the most time?
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..What’s The True Value of Blog Comments?
The problem that I have is that I always underestimate how long it’s going to take me to perform a task (that is, I always think that I can do things faster than I actually can). Therefore, I usually have to stay up late to finish things. You’d think that after so many years of knowing myself I’d learn, but no, I’m still doing it.
Marelisa’s last blog post..Create a Personal Manifesto: Your Self-Portrait
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Some really good advice and info on this blog. It’s obvious you put alot of effort into you’re work, keep it up!