"Are We There Yet” Syndrome

Jake Luehrs
November 22, 2025

ONE QUESTION

Are you willing to change yourself or are you simply more committed to changing your circumstances?

ONE THING TO PONDER

Choose to use pain to gain wisdom rather than sympathy.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

Patience died the day we started measuring success in quarters instead of decades.

We’re all exposed to a false truth every day.

That Results show up fast.….narrated by highlight reels on social media in Morgan Freeman’s voice. That’s the best, isn’t it?

The level of entitlement and ‘deserving’ from working hard for three months expecting a massive payout is complete bullshit and is unhealthy for us and the next generation that we are raising.

It’s one of the most malnourished breakfasts we feed ourselves each morning while scrolling social media. It’s worse than eating nerd clusters in the morning…no judgment, I’ve done it.

It also steals joy from us every.single.day.

Professionally, we're all like children in the back seat asking our parents, "Are we there yet?"

In the business world, we label patience as lazy. As lacking ambition.

I watch it happen everyday...and get caught up in it myself.

A Sabotaging Belief

The belief that simply working hard delivers fast results is actually toxic.

The story goes: Work hard....Get results fast....Live happily ever after.

But reality? Reality tells a different story:

Work hard for 10 years….. Become an "overnight success"...... Realizing that becoming was the whole damn point.

Strivers ignore the superpowers of being patient.

Active patience means getting up every single day, putting in the hours when no one's watching, doing the work when it’s boring, showing up on weekends when others are scrolling. ****For Years...Not Months. Years!

Most people can't stomach that. They want microwaveable success.

Our Path Forward

Things happen slowly, then suddenly. Look at some of the greatest things that have happened in YOUR life.

The event itself may have happened overnight, yet the preparation, actions, thinking, etc. all happened over a long period of time.

You were becoming someone new the whole time.

Stop asking "When will I get there?" and start pursuing "Who am I becoming?"

Because the destination is just a moment in time. The journey is your entire life.

You're not behind. You're not late. You're exactly where someone building something real is supposed to be.

Now get back to work. Quietly. Patiently. For years.

Onward and upward!

PS - Share this with anyone you can think of that has done great things but may be struggling!

LEAD & LEARN : WEEKLY PICK

PODCAST

How To Fix Your Negative Patterns w/ Alain de Botton

Modern Wisdom

This one rattled me and also gave me peace. It challenged my perspectives that society often wants us to believe, but filtered it with a raw truth that I felt rather than logically manipulated. I don’t say this about every podcast, but this is one we all can gain something from. I’m encouraging you to dive in and take the time to listen. Take a walk, take a drive, and listen.