Maetis
Mental Models
Mental Models · Card 5

Compounding

Small, consistent gains don't just add up — they multiply on top of themselves, which is why they look like nothing for a long time and then suddenly don't.

AddingCompoundingtodayyears later
In Practice

₹5,000 invested monthly for 25 years grows to far more than 25 years of contributions added up — most of the growth happens in the last few years, not the first.

Generic Example

A habit of reading ten pages a night looks like nothing after a week. After five years, it's dozens of books no willpower-fueled binge could match.

Am I judging this by what it looks like after one month, or after ten years?