The Truth About Consistency + Why You Should Embrace it for Yourself
Let’s be honest: The word consistency gets a bad wrap.
There are precisely a BAJILLION quotes on Google and Pinterest about consistency. “Consistency is the key to success.” And “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.” Or how about my personal favorite: “If you want to be successful, be consistent.” (Do these all sound the same to you or is that just me?)
The truth is, I’ve heard all of these quotes before, but none of them have ever really resonated with me because they all feel like they should be on cheesy posters hanging from a cubical wall in Office Space.
It’s true. The word gets overlooked. It’s not glamorous to be consistent. There’s no way to measure consistency. It just kind of hangs out there as another motivational quote for us to pin to our Pinterest boards.
So why should we embrace it?
Because cheesy quotes or not, I’m finding that consistency really is the key to almost EVERYTHING. Here’s what I mean:
There’s beauty in showing up for yourself.
It’s easy to get lost in the meaning of the word consistency. But I think the true definition of the word is a form of “showing up for yourself.”
Think if we reword the quotes from above:
“Showing up for yourself is the key to success.”
“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do when you show up for yourself.”
“If you want to be successful, show up for yourself.”
And I truly believe God wants us to show up for ourselves! Day in and day out. Making promises to ourselves that we don’t break. Trying, then failing, then getting up the next day and trying again. Following through again and again and again.
If our main focus is on showing up for ourselves, we’ll create consistency without overthinking it.
Creating consistency leads to conquering big dreams.
Baby steps.
Everything in life starts with baby steps. Whether you’re trying to create a healthy lifestyle, write a book, change careers, or start a family, you can’t get from point A to point Z over night. (Even pregnancy lasts 9 months! 😉)
Consistency is the small, quiet, not-so-fun thing that takes you from where you are to where you want to be. It’s what kicks in when motivation is over there on the bench taking a water break.
Sometimes (A LOT OF TIMES), I don’t feel like doing all the things. I’m tired, I want a cheeseburger, and binge-watching Hart of Dixie sounds way easier than firing up my laptop to write at 8:30 at night.
When motivation starts to slowly disappear, consistency is the thing that keeps me going. I’m tired, but getting up early to read a devotional and exercise is what I do, so I get up anyway. I want a cheeseburger, but eating a salad for lunch is what I do, so I eat the dang salad anyway. I want to watch Netflix after the kiddos go to bed, but writing is what I do after their in bed, so I pull out my laptop and keep the TV off anyway.
And if I can do this stuff, so can you, sis! (TRUST ME!) Consistency is the thing that will get you over the hump, even on days when you don’t feel like it. ESPECIALLY on days when you don’t feel like it.
Consistency does not equal perfectionism.
Listen, I am an instant gratification junkie. When I set my mind to something, I want it, and like, NOW. And I have a hard time accepting the fact that the greatest things in life sometimes take time because we’re not perfect. 😖
If I want to get where I want to go, then I need to be willing to put in the practice, create some habits, and trust that it will probably take longer than I’d like to get reach my goal. Why? Because I’m probably going to fail. Several times.
Just being consistent doesn’t mean we’re going to get it all right or all together over night. As we discussed in point one, being consistent means showing up again and again, even after failure!
So give yourself grace on the journey to practicing consistency. It will take time to learn and figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Wrapping up.
Here’s a final quote for the end: “Consistency is an under-appreciated form of intentional magic disguised as a mundane doing.” – Victoria Erickson. Well isn’t that the truth?
Please do yourself a favor and keep. showing. up. Every day. Again and again and again. THAT is how we make improvements. THAT is how we succeed at life. Showing up every day and remaining consistent.
**OVER TO YOU: What does consistency look like for you? Do you have any tasks that you dread but you’ve found a way to make work by consistently showing up? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below!
