Don’t Rush the Future
Why the players who rose fast often suffer at the top, and why your slow progress might be the best thing you have.
"You may want things to happen now, but more than likely if you got what you wanted now, you wouldn't be ready for it.
The process prepares you, strengthens you, shapes you, develops character, and creates success. Not in your time, but in the right time."
I read this beautiful paragraph in the book "How to be a Coffee Bean," and it reminded me of "Talent can be both a gift and a curse," an idea I didn't get immediately.
Gift - yes, but curse?
I understood it much later. Not from thinking, but from watching.
I personally know many chess players, who got strong quickly and made titles at very young ages.
But they never had the time, nor the need, to build character and life muscles.
Discipline. Work ethic. Patience. Resilience…
And later in their career, when they got to the top 100, where everyone has talent, and often character wins games more than chess skills, they suffered.
In life, in relationships, in health, where the results didn't come as fast as they were used to, they suffered.
Their talent was their gift and their curse.
And I know many, who were less talented. They got stronger later. Titles later. But on their way to the top, they built muscles.
They learned discipline and built routines, because they couldn't afford partying late at night, and playing a brilliant game the next morning.
They learned patience, because their hard work always paid off, but not immediately.
They fell down more often than talented people, and they learned to self-talk and got back on their feet again.
Their journey was harder, and that difficult path was their gift.
I'm not saying it's either talent or character. At the peak, they have both. They were born with one and built the other.
All I’m saying, my friend, if you put in lots of effort and hard work, be it in your chess journey, your career, or your dream, but you don't get results immediately - celebrate it.
You're building something hidden, something not obvious, that many would exchange their talent and results for.
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With best wishes and love,
For your growth and fun journey,
GM Avetik (or Avo, as my friends call me) ♥️
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Originally published Jul 29, 2026