Nobody Applauds the Roots

Recently I have been thinking a lot about how easily people give up.

I don’t think they give up because they are lazy, or because they lack talent. Nope. I think they give up because they expect visible results far sooner than nature ever intended.

I especially see it in people starting a new project.

For example, I hear this:

“I posted my first video.”

“I wrote one blog.”

“I launched my website.”

“I invited people to an event.”

Quickly followed by the heartbreaking conclusion:

“Nobody came.”

So they STOP. I mean hard STOP.

It makes me wonder. Would we ever treat a garden that way? I mean, imagine planting tomato seeds on Monday. By Thursday, nothing has appeared above the soil.

Would you dig them up and declare gardening a failure?

Of course not.

Every gardener knows the most important work happens where no one can see it.

Roots. Quietly growing. Strengthening. Preparing. Only after some time passes do the first tiny green shoots appear.

Well, life, projects, and communities work the same way. For the past year I have been writing blogs, recording TikToks and YouTube videos, building a website, and welcoming women into my Rebellious Aging community.

Some days the growth makes me gasp. Other days or weeks, not so much. But I have learned something.

Silence is NOT failure.

Sometimes silence simply means the roots are growing. I have watched people become discouraged because their first effort did not produce instant success. When nothing dramatic happened as soon as they assumed it would or should, they quietly walked away.

It all makes me really sad because they did not fail. They stopped watering and fertilizing and pruning. Growth definitely asks something of us.

For sure, it does not ask or demand perfection, or even certainty. Nope. But it does ask for awareness, patience, and consistency. It asks us to keep showing up long enough for the roots to do their work.

The other thing I have realized is that success rarely arrives exactly as imagined.

Sometimes the answer is not to quit. Sometimes the answer is to pivot. Ya know, try a different approach. Ask a different question, change the timing, learn something new. Tweak as needed.

You must keep tending the garden.

A pivot is not admitting defeat. A pivot is helping the roots find better soil. Maybe that is why I like gardens so much. They remind us that life has its own timetable. No amount of worrying makes a seed sprout faster. No amount of comparison makes your tomatoes grow bigger. You keep watering and pulling weeds and trusting that something beautiful is happening beneath the surface.

I am here to applaud the roots. Nobody applauds the roots.

People notice the flowers, celebrate the fruit, admire the tree, right? BUT, the real work that makes all of the rest possible, well, that happens underground. And think about it, it happens quietly, patiently, faithfully, and amazingly.

So if you are beginning something today, a project, a dream, a healthier lifestyle, a business, a relationship, or simply a new version of yourself, do NOT mistake today’s silence for tomorrow’s outcome.

Your roots are growing.

And one day, someone will admire the tree without ever knowing how long you spent tending the garden.

Just keep on watering.

Trust that the roots are doing their work.

💚 The Accidental Blogger