As humans, we are programmed from birth to seek instant gratification. We instinctively avoid danger and tend to shy away from tasks that require time and effort. Well, that kind of thinking makes sense if you are a caveman just trying to make it through the day with enough to eat. Unfortunately, we live in the age of technology and you are not a caveman (I assume, since you are reading this), these flaws cause a lot of problems in our modern lives.

Let’s consider a case where you set unrealistic expectations (these are: assuming there won’t be any difficulty, it will take only a couple days, you will get good very quickly, there won’t be any pain or disappointment), unaware of the unconscious flaws in your thinking that I explained earlier. You set yourself a goal, you want to learn how to draw and you want to be really good at it. (You just watched Bob Ross got inspired by him, and you are fully motivated at least for now). Now you believe you will be able to draw like Bob Ross in a couple of days, or you believe that it won’t require much effort (This is literally what I have thought in the past). After trying it for the first time, you face the harsh reality that you can’t even draw a proper straight line yet alone a painting. You realize that it will take significantly more time and practice than you originally expected. Noticing how far reality falls short of your expectations, your motivation is destroyed and you quit in the first couple days.

Learning anything meaningful takes far more time than you expect. And not only is it a long journey, it also involves pain, disappointment and a lack of gratification for a prolonged period. But if you begin with these things in mind, if you accept that it will not be easy and your progress will be very slow, you will eventually get there.