The 3 Types of Growth: Which Growth Curve Do You Follow?

Growth is a regular aspect of life. It could come at an increasing rate or a decreasing one, but you will always experience it.

Measuring growth is vital in navigating through life choices and situations. You want to be sure you are growing and learn what more you can do to speed up the growth rate. Most people may find it difficult to account for their progress in business and other aspects of their lives.

In this article, we will carefully consider the three types of growth and how they apply to life situations.

Let's get started.

1. Linear Growth Curve

The linear growth curve is simple, straightforward, and the most popular among the three growth curves.

Most people see linear growth as the norm. This notion has caused them to work tirelessly for their desired results. The growth pattern displayed in this curve happens when a constant addition of effort is inputted with each unit of time.

Linear growth is theoretical and neglects other variables that influence the straight-line growth pattern. For example, you cannot use this theory to justify incremental aspects such as wealth or skill acquisition. You cannot generalize the result of the growth patterns because it does not fit into every situation.

Examples of Linear Growth Curve

• Savings: A 18-year-old student plans to save $1,200 every year, and in 10 years, a total of $12,000 will be total savings. The student needs to be consistent and not default. At the end of the ten years, the result will be evident.
• Hourly Work and Pay: Another example that explains this theory portrays a freelancer who works for 5 hours and is paid $100. if there is an increment in the work time to 10 hours, the pay will increase to $200.

2. Logarithmic Growth Curve

Logarithmic growth curves are more realistic and applicable to real-life situations. This growth curve occurs when an individual decides on learning a skill and experiences significant improvement in a short time. However, as time progresses, this notable improvement begins to level out and is hardly noticeable.

Apart from learning a skill, this type of growth is present in other areas like business, relationships, and the human body. For example, the early period of a child's birth includes significant and noticeable growth mentally and physically.

Environmental factors and natural talents influence the speed at which the child learns a new language or skill. As time progresses, the notable physical growth of that child becomes stable during adulthood.

Logarithmic Growth Curve Graph

Examples of Logarithmic Growth

• Fitness and Strength Training: Your muscular growth rate at the initial phase of your training is usually noticeable. As you continue, your training and progress slow once you hit your carrying capacity. You may put in more hard work, but the process will not be as it was when you started.
• Literacy: An excellent example of logarithmic growth is how fast children learn to read and write. As they grow, they experience higher forms of education which are usually more difficult to comprehend than what they learned in elementary school. They put in more effort and hard work to learn new things.
• Weight Loss: If you plan to shed 50 pounds within six months, shedding five pounds within a week or two will be like child's play. As you progress, your result begins to dwindle, and you experience difficulty losing excess weight.
• Musical Skills: You don’t have to be a musical genius to learn and master the basics of musical instruments. As a professional, once you reach your carrying capacity, you may be stuck in one spot for a long time before moving forward.

3. Exponential Growth Curve

Exponential growth curves display the opposite of what the logarithmic growth curves portray. It has a j-shaped growth curve, ideal for measuring the population growth rate (birth and death rates).

Progress at the beginning stages looks insignificant or non-existent for a long period. As you increase your input, the little changes and improvements reach a significant threshold enough to cause a major growth surge with just a little effort.

This type of growth is easily attainable due to the advancement in technology. With little consistent effort, people see great results at work, schools, homes, and other aspects of their lives.

Exponential growth requires a lot of courage and willpower to scale the early period before you experience significant growth.

Unlike exponential growth, logistic growth takes a different approach. Exponential growth is only possible when resources are unlimited. In the real world, resources are limited.

Logistic growth is the concept that explains why the growth rate slows once it nears its carrying capacity (the maximum population size available resources can support).

Examples of Exponential Growth

Let's check out some examples of how the exponential growth pattern works.

• Building a Business from Scratch: Starting a business from scratch is hard. Most successful companies like KFC and Coca-Cola had a rough start in their early years that most people are unaware of. Their success stories were due to their consistency which eventually resulted in a surge in their sales and brand popularity.
• Investments and Wealth Creation: Compound interest enables you to accumulate lots of money after a long period. You can invest a portion of your earnings into a savings account with good interest and let it accumulate for over ten years.
• Digital Marketing and Website Traffic: Driving traffic to your website may be difficult initially, but as you continue to run ads and create more content, you will experience exponential growth. During the beginning stages, you may not get your visitors to buy what you are selling. But as trust grows, you will find yourself rolling in money.

The Challenges of Each Growth Curve

Understanding how the various growth curves work helps you make the right decisions in different areas of your life, especially in business. These growths have specific areas where they are perfectly applicable and where they are not.

None of these types of growth is bad or good, but you will always encounter such changes as you progress in life. Understanding how they operate will help you make the right decisions and give you a head start.

• Linear Growth Curve: Linear growth is applicable in some aspects of human life but you cannot generalize it. Life events and experiences do not happen in a straight line which means you cannot rely on the result of this theory. Your input does not automatically give you the same rewards as it may be more or less.
• Logarithmic Growth: This type of growth comes with stagnation at the top which is frustrating for people in this category. People want continuous and consistent progress, but this growth curve shows that not always the case. You can put in more effort than you initially did, but you would find it incredibly difficult to make big progress at this point.
• Exponential Growth: The challenge exponential growth has is the need to be patient and withstand the pressure that comes with slow progress. Keep in mind that early periods are tough. You may wait for years before you make any significant breakthrough and get the big growth you desire.

How to Accelerate Your Progress

Growth does not always have to be slow and relatively insignificant. You can improve on what you have and accelerate your growth significantly beyond the norm.

Here are two strategies you can use to accelerate your progress.

1. Break Down Tasks

The bigger the tasks, the more difficult it is to accomplish. By simply breaking these tasks into smaller bits, you will seamlessly accomplish them in a shorter time with less effort. Smaller tasks have steeper growth curves which makes them easier to master.

This strategy is perfect for accelerating your progress regarding specific tasks that experience logarithmic growth.

2. Employ a Different Strategy

Not all decisions and tasks have the same results. You can approach your task from a different angle and experience faster growth.

For example, if you intend to start a food business in an environment with many vendors, you may struggle for a while before enjoying the fruit of your labor.

Selling different products that are not readily available will result in quick and consistent growth. This strategy is perfect for tasks that have an exponential curve.

Explore Further

• 38 Inspiring Quotes About Business Growth
• 43 Actionable Personal Development Quotes To Help You Grow

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