5 Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results (and Why That’s Okay)
Have you ever been working on something or towards a goal and even though you’ve been making a true effort for months, you haven’t seen results yet? Tangible results?
And when you’re working so hard on something, you might start to feel discouraged because you don’t know if what you’re doing is working.
Maybe you even hear common sayings such as:
It’s darkest before the dawn
The last mile of the race is the hardest
The closer to the goal, the stronger the resistance
And while all of those statements are technically true, you still might wonder if your efforts are for “nothing”.
But what if it’s your expectations for when you’ll see results that need to be refined?
There are some myths about effort that might be holding you back from your best work.
5 Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results (and Why That’s Okay)
If you’ve been wondering why your efforts feel invisible, here are five myths worth letting go of.
Myth #1: If it’s working, you’ll see results immediately.
Truth: Some of the most meaningful progress happens before you can measure it.
We’re conditioned to expect fast feedback: post a reel, watch the views. Share a blog, check your analytics. And if nothing happens quickly, it’s easy to assume something’s wrong.
But in reality, most progress starts invisible. Especially the kind that lasts.
In my business, I’ve had to remind myself that just because something isn’t getting attention right away doesn’t mean it’s not gaining traction. The algorithm might be learning. The person on the other side might be thinking. And a blog post that isn’t ranking well on Google might quietly climb in search results six months from now.
Effort compounds, and that compounding often starts in silence.
Myth #2: Early data always tells the full story.
Truth: Data is important, and we should be making data-driven decisions, but sometimes it can’t see what’s still forming behind-the-scenes.
Early data can be misleading when you're building something new. Sometimes the numbers just need more time to catch up to the value you’re creating.
If you quit too soon because the data says “it’s not working”, you might miss the moment when it was just about to.
Now, I ask myself: what is this data telling me so far?
The absence of immediate data isn’t always a sign to pivot. Sometimes, it’s just a sign to keep going until you have more information.
Myth #3: If you’re not seeing progress, you should probably pivot.
Truth: You might not need a new direction, just more time in the one you’re in.
There will be times when you will need to pivot. But it’s a balancing act to choose the ideal time to pivot. And many people pivot prematurely.
Sometimes the urge to pivot can come from discomfort, impatience, and wanting to feel like something’s happening.
But some of the best breakthroughs I’ve experienced came from staying the course a little longer than I wanted to.
Some of the real questions to ask are: Are you pivoting because you’re scared it might not work? Or are you pivoting because you’ve truly given your best effort?
Myth #4: If no one’s watching, it’s not worth doing.
Truth: the work you’re doing when no one is watching is what leads to results.
Visibility and value aren’t the same thing.
I’ve actually been told that I’m in a great space to experiment quietly in this season. Though, I know there will be a time when I take losses in front of larger audiences.
Some of my most impactful work and character development has been created in seasons where hardly anyone knew what I was doing.
And I’ve always had a strong appreciation for behind the scenes work. The “back of house” roles help make whoever or whatever is most visible shine. It all works together.
And in my corporate career, sometimes the back of house teams weren’t appreciated as much as the clearly visible ones. I even saw some people lose confidence when their work was temporarily moved to the back of the house.
Whether five people see it or five thousand, your work still matters. And the audience will grow, but first, practice makes progress.
Myth #5: If it’s taking a long time, something must be wrong.
Truth: Time is part of the process.
There will absolutely be times when we want or even need a quick win. We’ve been sold the idea that success should be fast, especially online.
But many times, those quick wins are fleeting and can make us feel worse afterwards.
I’ve participated in challenges marketed in ways such as “transform your life in 30 days”. And it actually put a lot of pressure on me to “get it right” and “follow the program to a T” to get the results I wanted.
The reality is that while you can start to make changes within 30 days, true transformation takes much more time.
Most of what’s truly worth building takes longer than we want and longer than we plan for.
The Messy Middle Is Where You Become Who You Need to Be
Right now, you might be in the middle. Change is a moment, but transition is an ongoing process.
And when you’re in a transition, the messy middle can feel neverending.
It’s not always about speeding up the outcome. Sometimes it’s about staying steady while the roots grow deep.
Waiting for results is uncomfortable. But more often than not, outcomes are out of our control.
We can focus on our output and trust that results will come. And those results will either be what we wanted exactly or they’ll be lessons for us to implement when we work on our next goal or project.
So many people give up or give up too soon. But what if you’re just learning about delayed gratification first hand?
