Garrett Richardson

November 14, 2015

Comp 111
Professor Frances
MRP and Outline
I.
Introduction
A. Regarding the ability of the human being to incrementally change over time.
B. The human mind and body is remarkably well adapted to be able to cope with change
and will do so in different ways. Along with that people are influenced distinctively
by many factors which may create their understandings of change.
II.

Body
A. Relationship. Increments can be seen in the perception of ones growth of body and
mind from a starting point.
1. My home town gym where I first started weight lifting. This place gave me my
first sense of identity into who I wanted to become.
2. The first perception of incremental changed I noticed took place while lifting
because I saw myself slowing change over time. Change in my mental being and
the physical changes I was undergoing.
3. There becomes a sense of a starting place. The gym gave me my sense of a
starting place and gave me a foundation I could build on and take with me
through my life.
4. To take away from this the gym gave me ground to stand up on that I built upon in
myself and my outward self for noticeable change. The way people perceive
change is different and people have different starting places.
B. Sloterdijk. Sloterdijk describes the ability of humans to create bubbles in which we
live our lives. Bubbles are formed through interactions with others and are the basis
of our relationships.
1. His bubbles are in direct relation to incremental change because when a person
changes themselves their directly affect their bubbles.
C. Concept. Peoples histories, fields of study and principles all affect their
understanding of incremental change.
1. Mathematicians see the process of incremental change as a progression of
knowledge through time. The mathematician's viewpoint gives a direction
towards increments in one that is not uniform and is not necessarily physical.
a. Knowledge is the refutability of claims and the proving of new ones to
gain insight into the world that grows over time.
2. Biologists see increments in the evolution of species over time as a way to adapt
to the world around them that is constantly changing. Giving essence to the
physical aspect of incremental change and the slow process of it along with that
the process may take eons and that everything has a starting point.
a. Including the process of evolution and the development of an organism
through its life.

3. The average person's attitude towards incremental change can be one where they
themselves see conceivable changes.
a. The body builder works to see change in their outward appearance.
b. In myself, I see changes in my body and mind making myself grow.
4. All people who recognize incremental change all share the common factor of
failure.
a. Mathematicians see the eventually that all claims possess the ability to be
disproved.
b. Biologists recognize they may never know everything about the evolution
of species and that some are doomed to extinction.
c. Average people see that life does not always go as planned and there will
be injuries and setbacks.
5. Conclusion/Transition. In essence peoples all around the world from separate
doctrines and professions, to everyday people, are influenced differently and as a
result possess their own perception on the concept of increments.
D. Cause/Effect: However, there are enemies to this, things that distract away from the
ultimate goal leading to a spectrum of results on the world today. As a result, People
do not always see the value in taking the time to accomplish goals. Therefore, taking
the easy route is becoming an increasingly pervasive pandemic in todays society.
1. On the other hand, handouts and the lack of an incremental progress doctrine in
society may have its benefits; in the fact that government subsidies have been
made to aid people whom are in need.
2. The teaching of overnight success in people has created a generation of people
unable to see the value in incremental progress, whom are continuously searching
for government aid.
3. People avoid the unknown and opt for the easy path rather than try to reach their
full potential because again they dont see the value in taking the road less
traveled.
4. People are losing ability to see the value in failure and learn from it is a result of
being taught that youre always good enough when in reality no one is perfect
and work must be done, even in the event of failure, if you truly want to be great.
5. Conclusion. Incremental progress is lacking in todays society not from a lack of
morals but from what we are taught to believe. In a world where everything is
handed to you and every victory leads to praise, people young and old are losing
the ability to see into the future and work towards their actual goals and better
themselves.
III.

Whether a person may be on a course towards disaster or achievement, people

possess the ability to change and recognize those changes. Without recognizing the
importance, there would be no purpose to change and there would be no development
in the world and as a result the progression of knowledge and industry would come to
a standstill. Referring to what was stated above, in my own life I have battled failure
and seen myself succeed but the true value of incremental progress is not just to see
yourself succeed only once, but to continue to succeed over time.

Upward Bound
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones
we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek, (Barack Obama). Not every life starts
the same. Some are born into homes of knowledge, some into those where working hard is the
only way to excel and those who are not born into homes at all. Obama said it best, what makes
change happen is inside us and despite where these people start off though they all share one
common thing. They are humans, they want to create, learn, and prosper in their own rights.
People want to create more for themselves, now along with that, are these people able to see the
path that can take them where they want to go, to create change? Altogether, the human body and
mind must learn to create change for itself, a path that may not be quick or easy but nevertheless
is a necessity. In my own life, I searched for a place where I could create change for myself and I
found it in the gym.
Ideas are running through my head, I look in the mirror, sweat drips from my brow. Pain.
All I feel is pain. Pushing my body to the limits. I push for one last rep, telling myself I can do it
that I will not fail. From within a fire is lit. Pain disappears from my body fire extends through
my entirety and I thrust the weight above my head and release the weights from my grip.
Knowing I gave my all, I head for the showers. Giving my all is all I could ever hope to do in life
and the gym is a place where I earned that identity. I found my identity in the gym which is an
identity of hard work and grit.
I gaze my eyes to towards the gym doors and see the gym owners happily welcoming
newcomers into their family. Momentarily, I flash back to the day they welcomed me into the
family. Almost instantly, I am brought back from my daydream and avert my eyes to my own
body and think of the progress I have manifested and how far I have come from my first day just

a few years ago. Thinking how I went to the gym, day after day. Slowly learning what made me,
me. Each time giving a little more, never noticing results happening overnight. I finish my walk
to the locker room and take another look in the mirror and flex my arm noticing my very first
vein protruding from my bicep. Overtaken with joy because that one vein was my trophy. A
tribute to years of work, of pushing my body and mind to the limits of my ability, day after day
and of all the times where all I wanted to do was rack the weights and give up but never did.
Getting in my car to leave I take one last look back before I depart and flash back to a day
that will stay with me forever, because of a man who inspired me when I was on the verge of
quitting. The man lit a fire within me from a simple quote, Strength does not come from
winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardships and decide not to
surrender, that is strength, (Schwarzenegger, Arnold). I was taken aback because in that moment
I realized that it is never always about coming in first place or winning but what you create of
yourself in the process and whether or not you reach my own personal goals. Coming back to my
body, sitting back in my seat I continue reflecting how after that day I kept returning and when
times were tough I still found myself in the gym. Henceforth, the gym became a symbol of
commitment and home.
Commitment to change myself is the reason I walked into the doors of the gym for years
fighting injuries, mental fatigue and any challenge that would dare come. I became addicted to
the gym, I could not go more than a few days without at least stepping foot in the building for a
workout. When it came time to leave home it was as if I was taking the gym with me. Everything
inside, every piece of equipment and lesson I had learned was going with me to a new place at
Saginaw Valley. Without delay I was in a whole new world in college surrounded by new people
and experiences that I had never been exposed to before in my life and my sense of what I had

brought with me was slipping. I was overwhelmed by the sudden pressure college had placed on
me. It came to be that I was distancing myself from everything I had known in the past. I was
trying to make myself a new person and as a result a chasm was forming within myself. All of it
changed when one day I was walking past the gym at Saginaw, peeking through the windows
that wrapped the building, I decided I was not losing my identity. I was going to continue
creating myself in my new home.
Gyms are not only a place where people sculpt their bodies into those of the gods, but
also a place where people learn the values that guide them through life. A gym is a place where
people are willing to go to any length, give time and their bodies to figure out what makes them
unique and learn lessons that cannot be learned anywhere else to achieve success. In essence, the
gym creates more than just muscles but also people. On the other hand, in the processes of
creating oneself, it also indirectly affects the lives of others.
Although going to the gym is a way of creating oneself, the essence of creating oneself is
also in direct relation to Sloterdijks book Bubbles. In his book Sloterdijk describes the bubble
of human existence, in which humans are surrounded by a metaphorically created space formed
by relationships. However, the bubble cannot exist without humans but humans must exist
inside these bubbles in the relationships people form, creating a paradox. Along with that he
describes the ability of humans to create their own bubbles and their ability to draft them in
ways that fit the persons needs or desires and as a result these created bubbles effect those
whom also share the same particular bubble (Sloterdijk, 47-48). In effect, Sloterdijk is saying
what a person does affects others and themselves and is everlasting. Coinciding with that a
person has the ability to morph their bubble into something that suites them and incremental

change is that precisely. For instance, by changing oneself, the bubble is altered in the way one
interacts with others and how they perceive themselves and their value in the world they inhabit.
Sloterdijk describes a world that people directly and indirectly affect others based on
actions and beliefs. On that note however, this is only one perception of an underlying factor.
The real meaning lies in incremental change. A process that cannot exist on its own and can only
exist because humans create it, much like Sloterdijks bubbles. Altogether, incremental change
is a natural fact of life, but is looked upon differently by a range of peoples from entirely
different worlds.
An increment is defined as, something added or gained, according to Dictionary.com.
An increment can also be defined as creation of something through time and work. Never mind,
how the word increment is defined, the meaning of the word, will be attributed different
meanings to particular peoples in relation to contrasting doctrines. Biologists, mathematicians
and ordinary people, from those that work to educate themselves or those that sculpt their bodies
in weight rooms, may all ascertain a separate meaning to the concept because their experiences
have shaped their perception of what it means to build, gain, or even fail.
Mathematicians and the great philosophers of mathematicians laid the groundwork of
what is considered arithmetic today. Galileo Galilea was one of the foremost proceedings on the
fact that math is an ever growing statute without limitations of which our knowledge is ever
growing, leading to the principle of transcendence (Solomon). Mathematicians see the definition
of increments as the ability that their precedence has the ability to grow over time leading to new
discoveries and mans ability to seek out knowledge. As a result, the quest of knowledge grows
and the refutability of claims and the proving of correct ones leads in increments to their ultimate
goal of discovering how the world operates under given circumstances which can be made under

the assumption of previous knowledge coupled with new observations. Overall, a

mathematicians interpretation of an increment is skewed differently than that of a body builder,
biologist or any others because they see it as a collection coming together that cannot be finished
and is not physical. Whereas, a biologist may see it in the more physical aspect.
Biologists of all sorts relate their theory of incremental increase back to the late Charles
Darwin. Darwinian theories of evolution are the basis of understanding for many biologists. In
essence, the theory states that animals adapt incrementally to the world around them to survive in
an ever changing environment. In the example that Darwin used was that humans have not even
reached our final state and are currently in a stagnant medium in our progress towards evolving
that will never be finished (Fuller). So effectively speaking, biologists, contemporary and past,
can develop a recognition of increments that differs from those of separate backgrounds. All in
all, a biologist interprets the meaning of increments of one that takes place over the millennia
because of a need to adapt to accommodate or produce changes in an organism and that the
changes made will never be truly perfect and require constant advancement. On another hand, an
ordinary person may perceive this concept more simply than that of the biologist or
mathematician.
At the present time, biologists and mathematicians have their perception of increments,
but the average person does as well, for instance a person who partakes in the body sculpting
process. A body builders routine is a tendency towards hypertrophy training which with the
advent of training, creating induced muscle growth. Uniquely, over a period of weeks, months
and even years (Schoenfeld). A person undertaking these procedures may approach increments as
a purely aesthetical increase in their body mass or a noticeable increase in their ability to lift
more and more wieght. From my own experience, I can say that this is my own awareness of

increments because of my history of going to the gym explained beforehand. Notably, because I
have seen development in myself in all areas physically and mentally from training so I attribute
this concept with increments. A concept that incremental change is something a person can use to
make themselves into what they set out to be in life. Thereupon, this perception means a personal
devotion over time, to reach a goal.
Increments come vastly locked with the term failure and the intense attribute of being
able to take failure as part of the increment progression process. A person who sees the value of
increments should also retrospectively be able to see the value of failure because if there is no
failure then it can be hypothesized that the world is perfect which as a fact is unattainable. For
instance, the body builder may battle injury, the mathematician may come to impossible
theorems and the biologists may not never know the true evolution of a specific species along the
course of history. All people experience failure and that failure over time is what drives people
towards success.
As can be seen above, an increment is not simply just a definition of something added or
gained, (Dictionary.com) but more than that increments bare significant meaning to an array of
people that hold very few similarities. From the mathematician who sees it as the accumulation
of knowledge, to the biologist who connects increments to the development of species and
bodies through time and down to the everyday person who may interpret increments as a slow
building of oneself, however they all share one common factor and that is an ultimate goal in the
end. Nevertheless, the concept of increments is one that bares many meanings to a range of
peoples and cannot simply maintain one meaning. In the world there are many reactions to
different scenarios which possess the ability to alter peoples perception of increments and may
do so detrimentally to a persons capacity to flourish.

The amplitude of importance of incremental progress is obvious but there are many ways
the concept can be affected. In essence, the causes that affect incremental progress are not
malignant in nature but can be detrimental nonetheless, because of this the concept of
incremental progress is lacking in contemporary society. A result that has arisen from a variety of
sources.
Causes for the lack in work ethic and the ability to see the value in time has led to a
drastic change in the culture of todays society. The expectation, the presumption of hard work
doesnt appear to be anywhere near as pervasive as in the past, (National Review). In essence,
the American people not as whole but a significant portion are falling under the curve or not
achieving at all. For instance, walk into any class room and see students falling behind because
they were never taught to apply themselves or for another example go to a workplace and find
employers struggling to find employees willing to do anything considered manual labor or still
people that refuse to apply themselves to what is at hand. Maybe it is a result of handouts and
people never realizing what finding their full potential could lead them to. Nevertheless, it all
comes down to the concept of incremental progress. Incremental progress in the sense that
everything leads into the next and of which progress is not the result of overnight success. The
diminishing value of incremental progress can be attributed to the effect of handouts. According
to Fortune, Americans are stuck in a perpetually growing hole of government handouts.
Numbers of household on government paychecks and welfare has steadily grown, especially
with the advent of government stimulus, which has a desired effect to help the people pay bills
until jobs can be found, but has done precisely the opposite of its intended purpose. Handouts
have held people back from wanting to enter the job market because of the consistent pay and the
ease at which the handouts are given. All adding to the growing epidemic (Fortune). The growing

problems of handouts bailing people out, is a reason why people lose the sense of learning and
growing over time, because people see no sense in incrementally growing and putting in effort
towards reaching a goal when a check or a bailout is practically waiting to be cashed.
People never learning how to achieve greatness because of handouts also inhibits a
persons ability to achieve their full potential through incremental progress. People are afraid of
the unknown and thusly do not ever even attempt to exit their comfort zone and as a result fail to
realize their potential and never prioritize their lives. People are held back from finding their true
values or their purpose in life. Those that do are the few that set themselves apart and on the
same token are the only people who realize the dreams they set out on upon because of having
taken the more difficult route while people in the droves take the easier route. The less taken
route of a slow progression through life is what sets these people out from others and is what
garnishes them the abilities to escape average (Forbes). Reaching full potential and the processs
in which potential is reached are drastically different between every individual but the same
basic principles populate all routes. One basic principle is that it takes time to reach goals and
results are not seen immediately in any situation. As the book An Enemy Called Average
explained it, Never underestimate the purpose of the gifts within you. Meaning that all
individuals have a purpose, it is just whether a person pursues their purpose and realizes results
are not given but earned and to not be deterred when results do not accumulate overnight.
Progression is a continuous battle between setbacks and successes. In an experiment
done by Harvard Business Review, the experimenters concluded that when a person saw progress
they were more likely to become motivated and the satisfaction lead to more successes. The
researchers also cited Watson and Crick in the fact that while the two men were developing the
first DNA model, which scientists and students still use today, they did not succeed early on but

because they saw progress the two scientists slowly built a working model. As the article put it,
Of all the things that can boost inner work in life, the most is making progress in meaningful
work, (Harvard Business Review). As shown above, incremental progress leads to results and
that setbacks cannot dissuade because ups and downs are a fact of life and how a person
rebounds from failure is how they are defined. When people fail to see the value of working in
increments they defeat themselves and those that do are granted the ability to create, design and
change themselves in ways that illuminate the finer aspects of themselves, life and success. In
conclusion, by building upon successes great discoveries can be made like Watson and Crick
with their DNA model all the way down to the small successes which motivate people to become
more than average.
Incremental progress is the process of manufacturing success, from building upon the
things that may appear mundane at first sight then constituting it into a larger work. The context
and route that progress is made can be found in an infinite amounts of ways and can hold various
meaning to different people and the obstacles that people face on their journey make every case
unique. On that note, people need to be able to see the value of patience and taking account of
the small battles that are fought within themselves and the length of the journey which may need
to be undertaken to reach full potential. The author John Mason said in his book An Enemy
Called Average You cant fulfill your destiny on a theory. It takes work, in essence he stated
that the value of incremental progress is undisputable and the process of assembling or fulfilling
a destiny takes time and many underlying factors effect progress which coincide with the aspect
of work.
The coherent ability to recognize change is authentic. Authentic because people have the
ability to change themselves and to become the masters of their own destiny through incremental

change in whatever facet it may exist as. For the most part, incremental change cannot be
recognized as a simple one sided argument. As a concept, it delves much deeper than just a
simple definition. Incremental change can be seen as something that leads a person to their
ultimate goal or something that builds on itself over time to create their destiny. Nevertheless,
change does not come overnight and peoples ability to recognize that is what makes them
human. As seen above all people possess their own understanding of increments and the main
goal of incremental change residing in those definitions is the universal truth that all people have
the ability to surpass whatever may be blocking their path towards their destiny. As of now I am
on my path towards my destiny. I spend every day in the gym, classroom and life working on
myself and applying my own concept of incremental change to my life, putting in the work and
never giving up even when boulders may be blocking my path. In relation to that the great
Confucius once said The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones,
(Confucius). From all of this and the concept of incremental change the real meaning is to not
only find success only once but to continue creating success.

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