On the first Sunday of every month, I share a note from The Long View.
Not something new.
Something that endures.
—
Every time you say “I can’t,” you reinforce that belief.
Every time you try again, you quietly build a new identity.
Beliefs don’t change all at once.
They compound.
Weeks ago, one of my daughters came home frustrated after volleyball practice. Her serve just wasn’t working. No matter how hard she tried, the ball wouldn’t go over the net.
We talked for a while, and I told her something I wish someone had told me much earlier in life:
You don’t need to get it right.
You need to keep trying.
Because skill compounds.
When I was a kid, I spent most of my time playing soccer. I wasn’t born knowing how to play. I practiced every single day.
Looking back, I realize repetition shaped me far more than talent ever did.
And that’s what I want my daughters to understand early.
They have time.
Time to practice.
Time to fail.
Time to build their own compounding curve through effort and belief.
Beliefs compound just like practice.
Psychologist Carol Dweck calls this the growth mindset: our abilities aren’t fixed; they’re shaped by effort and repetition.
The more you practice, the more you believe you can improve.
And the more you believe you can improve, the more willing you are to practice.
It’s a quiet feedback loop:
Effort builds belief.
Belief shapes identity.
Identity makes effort easier.
That’s compounding. Not just in habits or wealth, but in mindset.
We often talk about “finding ourselves,” as if identity were hidden somewhere, waiting to be uncovered.
But identity is built one action at a time.
Every time you show up, especially when it’s uncomfortable, you cast a vote for the person you’re becoming.
Every time you avoid trying because “you’re just not that kind of person,” you reinforce the opposite story.
You don’t rise to the level of your talent.
You compound to the level of your belief.
Most people underestimate how powerful small beliefs really are.
You don’t need new talent.
You need new evidence.
Saying “I can learn this” might sound naïve
just like investing a small amount consistently sounds pointless…
until you see what compounding does.
What you believe about yourself shapes what you attempt.
What you attempt shapes what you learn.
And what you learn shapes who you become.
Beliefs are invisible investments.
They earn interest through repetition, attention, and time.
The story you tell yourself today becomes the person you meet tomorrow.
So before you give up on something that feels hard, ask yourself:
What if the only thing missing isn’t talent but time, repetition, and belief?
This is why I come back to ideas like this.
Not because they’re new.
But because they’re true.
Truth, repeated long enough, compounds.
—
Gregorio Sánchez
The Long View