More Than Just Time

If you add water to uncooked rice and put it in the microwave, 15 minutes later you'll have a steaming bowl, ready to eat.

However if you put the rice-water mixture in the refrigerator instead of the microwave, it will not reach the intended result even if you leave it there for 3 weeks. It eventually becomes crumbly but remains brittle and inedible.

So often we chalk up our dissatisfying results to "not enough time". 

• If I just had more time, my presentation would have been better.
• If I just stick in this role longer, maybe I'll become a great manager. 
• If I keep putting in the time on the piano, eventually I'll learn how to play this song.

And sometimes this works. 

But sometimes this is an excuse.  Sometimes it's a justification to avoid taking the uncomfortable steps of putting in the work, or having the hard conversation, or making the unpopular decision, or shipping the final product. 

Sometimes to get the outcome we want requires going through some heat.