It’s probably no secret at this point that I’m a big fan of consistency.
- I write this newsletter every Monday morning consistently (71 weeks of them today!)
- I love consistently challenging myself to post a piece of lettering or art on Instagram every day for one month straight (5 separate months I’ve issued myself this challenge.)
- I even created a worksheet that allows me to check off boxes as I complete my healthy goals each day.
Consistency is a powerful force, and I believe it may be the single greatest thing you can do to improve your life or build your business.
BUT, funny enough, I actually don’t want to talk about that today. Instead, I want to talk about inconsistency.
I want to talk about what happens when - in the midst of those personal promises we make to ourselves - we fall off the proverbial wagon. When we break the streak. When we make that commitment and say “for the next X days, I’m going to Y” … and then four days later we miss a day and the whole thing crumbles to pieces.
First, I guess some context would help.
For the past three weeks, I’ve struggled to stick to my normal routine. First it was because we were traveling to Fargo then one week later to the East Coast, and travel always seems to be my go-to excuse when it comes to weaseling my way out of consistency.
Before our we left on these trips, I felt like I was cranking away on my art, we were in a good rhythm with our new healthier eating habits and exercise, and I was spending at least one hour a day on my writing, a challenge that I had issued myself for the month of June. All systems were go, and the consistent momentum felt fantastic.
Then the unpredictable switch up in my environment - being around different people, not having access to my regular tools/supplies, having a completely erratic schedule each day - threw me for a complete loop.
While I was on the road, pretty much all of my momentum went completely off the rails. I ate crappy, I stopped making time to create every day. I found all kinds of excuses not to just sit in the chair and write for an hour.
That's okay, I thought. Don't panic. You're on the road and you'll be back to normal soon.
Once it came time to finally return to my safe haven of ritual and routine here in California, I naively thought it would be simple to just pick up where I left off.
Boy, was I wrong.
Here’s what I discovered:
When we fall off the wagon, it feels twice as hard to get back on.
Maybe it’s because of the subconscious shame we feel when we “fail” to follow-through on our promises to ourselves.
Maybe it’s because when we break the chain, we effectively break our own trust with ourselves.
Or maybe it’s just because not doing stuff is a heck of a lot easier than doing stuff and turning back is a heck of a lot easier than pressing on.
All I know is that I want to get back to the momentum I felt when I was consistently and intentionally striving for growth. And the only way to do that is to ignore the comfort that comes with quitting and to find my way back to the rituals I once built.
In order to do that, today I’m officially giving myself permission to start over. To hit reset. And I hope this email gives you permission to do the same.
“We don’t fail if we break the chain of consistency; we only fail if we never get back to work.”
So whether you cracked under pressure and strayed from your recent healthy eating plan; you had a hectic day and forgot to post your lettering practice; you got scared to hit publish and missed a week of your newsletter; or you just could not bring yourself to get out the door and get to the gym…
It’s time to hit reset and get back to work.
Don’t lose sight of what you wish to become just because you hit a bump in the road.
Keep growing. Keep creating. Keep moving forward with intention.
This week, I challenge you to pick back up one positive habit or ritual that you may have gotten off-course with. Then reply back and tell me what it is!
This week, I'm plan to get back to my writing schedule, post my art on Instagram at least once a day again, and finally, I plan to issue myself a bit of a drastic fitness challenge to shock my system back into consistent mode!
