The first phase is the Overthinking phase. Will this work?

You keep thinking, thinking, and then give up thinking. Then you see others doing it and you are tempted to do it. So, you muster some courage and start doing it.

This leads you into the next phase: “Despair.”

Things are difficult in the beginning. It is like learning to write with your non-dominant hand. It can feel awkward. You say to yourself “I was right all along. This thing will never work. It is harder than I thought. Will this ever be good?”

Some people give up in this phase, having started and trying for a few months. Most people give up in the first 6-18 months.

Assuming you manage to stick through the grind, you reach the final stage where you are almost there. You are like 95% there and the Maximalist or Perfectionist in you comes out. This is the Perfection phase. This is not good enough yet. This is not going to work, and you then get tempted to pull back or do something stupid to take you back to the 25-50% zone. Some even quit here.

While it is important to overcome all 3 phases, the first 2 phases are super critical. Majority of the people get stuck in the first phase itself and most of the ones who manage to overcome this get stuck in the second phase. Make sure you understand that this is a natural part of evolution of a skill, competency and ultimately becoming a master at something.