The Position vs. Trend Mindset: Why Your Trajectory Matters More Than Your Current Location
By Derek Neighbors on July 17, 2025
I remember the exact moment I almost quit programming.
It was the late 1990’s. I was three months into my first real engineering job, sitting in a code review with developers who had been writing software longer than I’d been alive. They were discussing architectural patterns I’d never heard of, referencing design principles that weren’t in any of my college textbooks, and solving problems with an elegance that made my code look like finger painting.
I went home that night convinced I’d made a terrible mistake. These people were operating on a completely different level. I was a junior developer. They were senior engineers. The gap felt insurmountable.
But then something shifted. Instead of comparing where I was to where they were, I started tracking where I was going. I began measuring my progress from my own starting point, not theirs. I focused on my trajectory, not my position.
That shift changed everything. It was my first encounter with what the Stoics called prosoche, the daily practice of attention to progress rather than comparison.
The Comparison Trap
Most people quit not because they lack ability, but because they’re measuring the wrong thing. They compare their current position to someone else’s and conclude they’re failing. They look at where they are instead of where they’re going.
This is position thinking, the toxic habit of measuring success by your current location rather than your direction of travel. Research from Carol Dweck’s lab shows that people with fixed mindsets are significantly more likely to abandon challenging goals when they encounter setbacks, while those with growth mindsets persist through difficulties and achieve higher performance over time.
Position thinking asks: “Where am I compared to others?” Trend thinking asks: “Where am I going compared to where I started?”
The difference between these two questions determines whether you persist or quit, whether you grow or stagnate, whether you become excellent or remain mediocre.
The Philosophy of Progress: Position vs. Trend
Position Thinking: The Static Trap
Position thinking focuses on snapshots. It measures your current state against external benchmarks and finds you wanting. It’s the mindset that says:
- “I’m not as successful as my college roommate”
- “I’m not as skilled as my colleagues”
- “I’m not as wealthy as my neighbors”
Position thinking creates devastating problems: discouragement through comparison, blindness to your own progress, and premature abandonment of the very process that would eventually get you where you want to go.
Trend Thinking: The Dynamic Philosophy
Trend thinking focuses on vectors. It measures your direction and velocity, not your location. It’s the mindset that says:
- “I’m learning faster than I ever have”
- “I’m building skills that compound over time”
- “I’m moving in the right direction”
Trend thinking is fundamentally a philosophy of energeia, Aristotle’s concept of potential becoming actual through directed action. It requires three essential virtues:
Sophrosyne (Discipline): The self-control to focus on your own path rather than others’ achievements.
Andreia (Courage): The bravery to continue when your position seems inadequate compared to others.
Phronesis (Practical Wisdom): The judgment to measure what matters and track meaningful progress.
When you track your trajectory, every improvement becomes evidence of success. You sustain effort through inevitable plateaus because you see temporary pauses in an otherwise upward trend. Most importantly, you stay in the game long enough for these small improvements to compound over time.
The Ancient Wisdom of Trajectory
The Greeks understood this distinction millennia before modern psychology validated it.
Aristotle’s Energeia described the process of potential becoming actual through directed action. He wasn’t interested in comparing one person’s current state to another’s, he was fascinated by the dynamic process of becoming. Energeia is pure trajectory thinking: the recognition that what matters is not where you are, but the direction you’re moving and the potential you’re actualizing.
Stoic Prosoche was the daily practice of attention to progress in virtue rather than comparison with others. Marcus Aurelius didn’t wake up comparing himself to other emperors, he focused on whether he was becoming more virtuous than he was yesterday. The Stoics measured themselves against their own potential, not others’ achievements.
Heraclitean Logos taught that everything flows. “No man ever steps in the same river twice,” because both the man and the river are constantly changing. Heraclitus understood that reality is trajectory, not position. To focus on static states is to miss the fundamental nature of existence.
Trajectory Thinking in Practice
Skill Development: Tracking Your Energeia
When I was that discouraged junior developer, I made a crucial shift. Instead of comparing my current skills to senior engineers, I started tracking my learning velocity. How fast was I acquiring new concepts? How quickly could I solve problems that used to stump me?
The answer was encouraging. I was learning faster than I ever had in my life. My trajectory was steep, even if my position was still junior.
I started keeping a “learning log”, a simple document where I recorded new concepts I’d mastered, problems I’d solved, and skills I’d developed. Every week, I could see clear evidence of progress. My energeia was undeniable, even when my title hadn’t changed.
This same principle applies everywhere: The trail runner who goes from not being able to complete a 3-mile loop to handling technical mountain terrain. The entrepreneur who moves from struggling with basic business concepts to understanding complex market dynamics. The artist who progresses from copying others to developing their own voice.
Position thinking: “I’m still not where others are.” Trend thinking: “I’m actualizing potential at an unprecedented rate.”
Physical Mastery: Strength as Trajectory
I see this pattern constantly in fitness. New runners compare their 12-minute mile to elite athletes running 5-minute miles and conclude they’re “not runners.” They’re measuring position instead of trajectory.
But the person who goes from not being able to run a block to completing a 5K has made a more dramatic transformation than the elite athlete shaving 30 seconds off their marathon time. The trajectory is steeper, even if the position is “lower.”
When I started trail running, I could barely complete a 3-mile loop without walking. I watched videos of ultramarathoners covering 100 miles through mountains and felt like we were different species. But I tracked my progress differently. Week by week, I could run farther without stopping. Month by month, I could handle steeper terrain. My trajectory was clear, even if my position was still “beginner.”
Position thinking: “I’m slow compared to real runners.” Trend thinking: “I’m building endurance and technique that didn’t exist before.”
Creative Mastery: The Parent’s Journey
Take Sarah, a working mother who dreamed of becoming a photographer but felt overwhelmed by Instagram feeds full of professional portfolios. She had 20 minutes in the morning and maybe an hour on weekends. Position thinking would have told her she was “behind” everyone else.
Instead, she focused on trajectory. She committed to taking one intentional photo each day, studying composition, light, and storytelling. Six months later, she wasn’t a professional photographer, but she had developed an eye that didn’t exist before. Her trajectory was undeniable, even if her position was still “amateur.”
Position thinking: “I’m not a real photographer compared to these professionals.” Trend thinking: “I’m developing visual skills I never had before.”
But embracing trend thinking isn’t easy; it demands discipline.
Forging the Trajectory Discipline
Here’s where most people bullshit themselves. They say they want to stop comparing themselves to others, but they don’t want to do the hard work of actually tracking their own progress. They want the comfort of trajectory thinking without the discipline it requires.
You say you’re growing. Are you? Or are you just avoiding harder comparisons? Be honest.
Real trajectory thinking isn’t a mindset upgrade. It’s a discipline of suffering well through the discomfort of measuring yourself against your own potential instead of others’ achievements.
1. Change Your Measuring Stick
Stop comparing your current state to others’ achievements. Start comparing your current state to your past state. The only meaningful comparison is with your former self.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: this means you have to face how far you haven’t come, not just how far you have. You have to acknowledge the gap between where you are and where you could be if you’d been more disciplined.
Instead of: “I’m not as successful as my college roommate.” Try: “I’m more capable than I was a year ago, but I’m still not pushing my limits.”
2. Track Leading Indicators
Position thinking focuses on lagging indicators, current results. Trend thinking focuses on leading indicators, the activities that create future results.
This requires brutal honesty about what you’re actually doing versus what you tell yourself you’re doing. Most people track what makes them feel good, not what makes them grow.
Instead of: “I don’t have much money saved.” Try: “I’m investing more consistently than ever before, but I’m still avoiding the harder financial decisions.”
3. Measure Process, Not Just Outcomes
Track the inputs you control, not just the outputs you hope for. The writer who focuses on words written per day instead of books published. The entrepreneur who tracks customer conversations instead of just revenue.
But don’t let process become an excuse for avoiding results. Track the process that actually moves the needle, not busy work that makes you feel productive.
Instead of: “I haven’t published a bestseller.” Try: “I’m writing more consistently than I ever have, but I’m still not tackling the hard subjects.”
4. Celebrate Trajectory Milestones
Create celebrations around progress, not just achievements. The runner who celebrates their first 10K, even if they’re still “slow.” The developer who celebrates solving their first complex algorithm, even if they’re still “junior.”
But celebrate the right things. Celebrate the moments when you pushed through discomfort, not just when things felt easy.
Instead of: “I’ll celebrate when I reach my goal.” Try: “I’ll celebrate when I do something that scared me yesterday.”
The Prosoche Practice: Your Daily Trajectory Tracker
The Stoics had a practice called prosoche, daily attention to progress in virtue. Here’s how to adapt it for trajectory thinking:
Morning Ritual (2 minutes):
- Write down one skill you’re developing
- Identify one small action you can take today to improve
- Set an intention for progress, not perfection
Evening Reflection (3 minutes):
- Record one thing you learned or improved
- Note one challenge you overcame
- Acknowledge your trajectory, however small
Weekly Review (10 minutes):
- Compare this week’s capabilities to last week’s
- Identify patterns in your growth
- Adjust your approach based on what’s working
Keep a simple log. Not of achievements, but of progress. Not of where you are, but of where you’re going:
- Skills developed: What can you do now that you couldn’t before?
- Problems solved: What challenges did you overcome?
- Habits strengthened: What behaviors are becoming automatic?
- Knowledge gained: What insights changed your thinking?
- Relationships deepened: How did you connect more meaningfully?
Track your trajectory, not your position. Practice prosoche as a daily discipline of attention to your own energeia.
The Compound Effect of Trajectory Thinking
Think of trajectory like a river cutting through stone. Position is just where the water happens to be at any given moment. The river doesn’t care about its current location, it cares about the relentless force that’s carving the canyon deeper with each passing day.
Here’s what happens when you shift from position to trend thinking:
Month 1: You start noticing progress you were previously blind to. Month 6: You build momentum through consistent small improvements. Year 1: You’ve made significant progress while others who were “ahead” have stagnated. Year 5: You’ve achieved things that once seemed impossible because you stayed in the game.
The person who focuses on trajectory outlasts the person who focuses on position. Persistence beats talent. Direction beats location. The river beats the moment.
The Paradox of Position
Here’s the counterintuitive truth: when you stop focusing on your position, your position improves faster.
When you stop comparing yourself to others and start tracking your own progress, you:
- Stay motivated longer
- Persist through difficulties
- Continue improving when others quit
- Eventually reach positions that once seemed impossible
The junior developer who focuses on learning velocity eventually becomes the senior engineer. The beginning runner who focuses on endurance building eventually completes marathons. The new entrepreneur who focuses on skill development eventually builds successful companies.
Position is a byproduct of trajectory. Focus on the trajectory, and the position takes care of itself.
Final Thoughts
Your current position is just a snapshot. Your trajectory is your story.
The question isn’t whether you’re ahead or behind others. The question is whether you’re moving in the right direction. The question isn’t whether you’ve arrived. The question is whether you’re making progress.
Most people quit because they’re measuring the wrong thing. They compare their current position to others and conclude they’re failing. But success isn’t about where you are, it’s about where you’re going.
Your trajectory matters more than your location. Your direction matters more than your destination. Your progress matters more than your position.
Stop comparing. Start tracking. Focus on your trajectory, not your position.
The path to excellence isn’t about being better than others. It’s about actualizing your potential through sustained energeia. That’s trend thinking. That’s the discipline of becoming the best motherfucker at what you do.
Your trajectory is your advantage. Use it.
But here’s the question that will separate you from everyone else reading this: What’s one area where your trajectory is undeniable, and one where it’s completely flatlining? Write both down. Now track the flatlining one for 30 days. Most people won’t do this. They’ll nod, agree, and change nothing. Don’t be most people.
This isn’t just about growth. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself at what you do, and that starts with tracking your trajectory like your life depends on it.
Ready to shift from position to trend thinking? MasteryLab provides the tools and community to track your trajectory across all areas of growth. Stop comparing your position to others and start building momentum toward your potential.
