Gradually Then Suddenly

If you’re like me, most days don’t feel life changing.

They feel incremental.

Mark Batterson talks about this in “Gradually Then Suddenly”.

Small decisions.

Quick conversations.

Habits we barely notice anymore.

Batterson described it as we’re all on one of two curves.

One leads to growth.

The other leads to regret.

It’s the same idea behind Hemingway’s line:

“How do you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually then suddenly.”

What gets me is this:

Success and failure can often look identical at first.

Same routines.

Same choices.

Same “this probably doesn’t matter” moments.

Until one day… it does.

And this isn’t just about business.

• I see it in parenting.

• In health.

• In relationships.

• In faith.

• In habits.

Life seems to move slowly… right up until it doesn’t.

Which has me asking myself lately:

Are the small decisions I’m making today quietly shaping the future I want… or just reinforcing the patterns I already have?

Because every meaningful change I’ve ever seen — good or bad — started gradually.

-Rusty Fulling