I recently discovered a new concept about how life works, which I call the life curve. It’s an evolutionary pattern you can find everywhere—relationships, companies, projects, even writing—both on a micro and macro level. It holds the key to making the changes you care about happen.
I first encountered a similar idea in another context. Seth Godin talks about “the dip,” which describes the natural journey of any creative project. You begin with an exciting, easy, and motivating start, and then inevitably, you hit the dip. In that moment, you face reality and the obstacles you must overcome. Simultaneously, resistance—overthinking, perfectionism, self-doubt, frustration—creeps in. This is all part of the dip. Push through it, and things start to work. Persist long enough, and exponential growth—in any dimension you choose—will kick in, reigniting excitement and possibly exceeding even your wildest imagination.
Interestingly, a similar concept underpins startup culture. Y Combinator, for example, shows founders a similar curve to prepare them for the journey ahead.
But this curve goes beyond creative projects and startups—it’s deeply embedded in life. Relationships begin with excitement, flow, and love, then naturally become more complicated as you notice aspects that once went unseen. Your task is to work through these challenges to make space for a more powerful version of that relationship.
That’s why I call it the life curve. Nearly everything evolves in waves: initial excitement, followed by complication and resistance, and then a more potent form of excitement and impact. These waves repeat with every new initiative, idea, project, or relationship.
Once you understand this pattern, you gain the confidence that things will eventually improve. This is simply part of the journey—a test of your commitment. It’s almost as if the universe asks, “Are you sure this is what you want to be doing?” If you quit, maybe it wasn’t for you. But if you continue to show up and persist, things will get better—they always do. With an awareness of the life curve, patience becomes easier because you understand the natural evolution of things. The life curve, after all, holds the key to everything.