The Illusion of Progress: How Watching Others Keeps You Stuck

Like most of us, Robin was browsing through his phone when a self-help video appeared. It has slow-motion montages, dramatic music, and a deep voice that says things like,

“You’re just one decision away from a completely different life.”

He felt something stirring. Inspiration. Hope. Perhaps even a purpose.

He straightened his posture. Indeed. He thought,

“I’m going to get my life together.”

He anticipated waking up at 5 a.m., journaling with a warm cup of green tea, running a mile before daybreak, and churning through goals like a machine. In his mind, the future was bright, like a highlight reel of a life that had been reinvented.

That day, he did not do anything.

But was that all right?

He persuaded himself,

“I watched a self-help video.”

That is a significant step. Tomorrow, I’ll get started.

However, tomorrow never arrived. Rather, the pattern was repeated:

Scroll. Observe. Get inspired. Imagine. Postpone. Rinse. Do it again.

You may be astonished to learn how man arrived. You can connect. You have lofty aspirations.

You may wish to:

• Start a side hustle

• Finish your degree

• Create a book

• Get in shape at last

• Or simply stop browsing through sad headlines at two in the morning

You witness people following the exact same patterns you already planned out in your Notes app, doing precisely what you want to do.

What do you do, too?

You observe them. You encourage them.
You treat reading on discipline, productivity, and success as if it were your full-time job.

The catch is that

You don’t get any closer to the top of a mountain by watching someone else climb it.

🧠 The Psychological Effect

Psychologists refer to this as

“Vicarious Goal Fulfillment.”

Your brain plays a trick. It experiences a little dopamine rush when you watch, plan, or simply discuss your goals.

It seems like you’ve accomplished something worthwhile.

However, in practice?

You haven’t made any progress.

You’re trapped in what I like to refer to as the

“Doom Motivation Loop”:

1. You become motivated.

2. You envision your achievement in the future.

3. You put things off until “tomorrow.”

4. You regret not getting started.

5. To hide the guilt, you look for more motivation.

6. Back to step 1.

The goal of the contemporary digital world is to keep you trapped in this state of:

Constant planning, romanticization, and consumption.

The appearance of growth is the foundation of a complete content economy.

• We confuse watching a habit-forming YouTube video with really developing one.

• We believe that being that girl is the same as saving a TikTok account about “that girl’s” habits.

It’s not, to give you a hint.

⚙️ Isn’t Flashy Growth Not Real Growth?

It’s rough. It’s not beautiful. It occurs when everyone is looking, when it is lifeless, and when it is painful.

It involves

• Pulling oneself out of bed

• Setting your alarm

• Completing the dreaded work even when you’d rather do something different

It’s not a miracle.
It’s the everyday grind of deciding to act when it would be easier not to.

It’s unpolished discipline.

To put it plainly:

Consumption absent action is merely procrastination masquerading as motivational sayings.

💬 Robin’s Tale Is Not the Only One

There is an epidemic.

Many of us are stuck because we know what to do.
not because we don’t know.

We have access to:

• A vast amount of information

• Advice

• Apps

• Tricks

• How-tos

However, knowledge without action?

Just sounds.

⚡ This is your call for clarification:

• Make the dream smaller.
  Exciting but daunting are big goals.
  Take one tiny, clumsy step at a time.

  • One push-up.

  • Just one paragraph.

  • Just one phone call.

• Make scrolling more difficult.
  Place your social media apps in the “Later” or “Time Trap” folder.
  Even better, remove them for a day.

• Don’t reward ideas; reward action.
  Give up praising potential.
  No matter how disorganized it appears, start applauding progress.

• Dispute the falsehood.
  When your thinking says,

  “I’ll start tomorrow,”
  ask yourself:
  “Why not now?”

Pause the next occasion you find yourself witnessing someone else fulfill your dream.

Don’t mention “one day” when nodding.

Say “today.”

Take one action that advances you, even if it is only a small one.

Tomorrow does not exist. Now, though? This is your chance.

Allow Robin to scroll. There are other things for you to do.

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Writer

Sumaiya Sharmin Fariha

Intern,

Content Writing Department, 

YSSE