reiterating consistency
"We make progress in drops but lose it in buckets."
This is a quote I heard the other day that rings true to me. I'm not sure who said it first because I'm seeing different versions from various sources, but it was probably related to the original quote from Kevin Plank (founder of Under Armour) on how a brand's trust is built and lost.
Homeostasis is a biological state we can use to our advantage as the mind and body more easily return to the states that they have maintained the longest, but to first be in a desirable state of homeostasis, we need to be consistent. Since positive change is inherently uncomfortable (if not painful), it's the consecutive, minuscule victories that we must compound to continue moving in the right direction.
There is never a middle ground — you are either progressing or regressing, and each decision moves you forward or backward. Of course, life is rarely binary, and there is no shortage of grey area, but there is still the constant pull between expansion and contraction or desirable and undesirable change.
Alcohol is a good example. There is no physiological benefit to drinking (sorry, proponents of red wine consumption for the sake of resveratrol...I had a hunch the teachings on "one-two drinks per week being good for your heart" were B.S. when I first heard them in 8th grade). However, drinking is culturally relevant in a lot of settings. Alcohol in moderation can also be a harmless social lubricant, but you know the line between progress and regression for you and your personal season in life. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy craft beer in good company and cocktails with fresh ingredients, but I know the compromises I'm making with them — I make sure I've at least helped someone or have grown in some way before enjoying a drink.
Progress means everything and is nonnegotiable. If you fall back in one area, you must go forward in another. At a certain life stage, physical fitness, for example, may become less important to you, but you'll want to function and contribute to society on a more cerebral level. While there will be trade-offs, you must always be growing. The other direction only means suffering, despair, and hopelessness.
I would always tell my students that language acquisition is not a linear process. In fact, I can't think of any discipline that is entirely linear. Even in the short term of something like weightlifting, for example: you lift to a point of failure, rest, recover, and only then proceed to heavier weights once your body and nervous system are ready. However, your effort can be consistent and should likely improve over time as you gain more focus and experience with what you're practicing.
Wake up times, physical activity, work habits, and behavioral patterns — everything matters when it comes to consistency. Decide what direction you want to go in, start taking steps in that direction, and be honest with yourself about the level of effort you're applying along the way. When things seem to get easier, fight against complacency at all costs.
As I've mentioned before, I'm not perfect in any area of self-development, but I'm noticing a necessity to be more relentless in how consistent I am with the daily practices I know make positive differences in my life and for those around me.
If I postpone writing or creating a video for something that I have had a vision for, the quality may suffer because all art forms demand repetition. When I put off a workout or a phone call that I know I need to make, more time passes, and I fall more steps behind.
Time is going to pass regardless of your activities or what happens around you. Among the few things that are guaranteed, you are becoming who you are in every present moment, and change is constantly taking place in one direction or another.
What direction are you choosing?
Not all weekly letters will be like this — this topic of relentless consistency has been on my mind over the past few days and I wanted to share it as I imagine the missing ingredient for many of you might just be consistency in whatever life projects that you're currently working on.
Next week's letter will likely be more lighthearted with some educational entertainment involved, but I hope you enjoyed this one.
-Thomas