We fear that without actively improving, we’ll stagnate. But the fear of stagnation is what actually creates stagnation. This follows a broader pattern: the fear of loss invites loss, the fear of abandonment invites abandonment. Our nature is to invite what we fear so we can learn from it.
Joe offers a simple experiment: try not to improve for two weeks. Don’t learn anything, don’t grow, don’t have realizations. One person who tried this reported an explosion of recognitions and realizations—because they stopped trying. This is why vacation works: you come back performing better because you weren’t actively trying to improve.
The fear of stagnation shows up most intensely when you question your measurements of progress. If you deeply examine what you mean by “kind” or “successful” or “productive,” the ground falls away. That’s terrifying—but life doesn’t require meaning to keep moving. Life can’t stop moving. Growth is our nature, like an oak tree that doesn’t need to decide to grow.
“Try to not improve for a week… I told someone to do that once and they were like, oh my God, so many recognitions, so much realization, because they stopped trying.”