Consistency as the Key to Success

When trying to decide what to blog about this weekend, I realized that a lot of things in my life over the last few weeks relied on consistency. And I also came to realize just how horrible I am at being consistent. (I mean, look at the time stamp on this post.) It's pathetic, really. But it remains the key to success in almost every area of life.

I've always heard that consistency is important. I guess I didn't realize until just this Thursday that I've heard that in a lot of different places ... and dismissed it, I guess? D: Not good. I think my real problem is consistency is a discipline. And I'm not very good at self-discipline, I freely admit. Some areas it's good to be consistent in are:

Apparently, you'll be more successful as an author if you write every day (I wouldn't know ;P ). People say it's not the number of words but the discipline of getting some down daily that helps you progress. I could argue with that for an eternity. Lately, my pattern has been writing and writing a lot whenever I have an evening free to do so. And it's worked really well. But the few nights I haven't felt like it and decided I should try anyway ... yeah, I 've gotten words written that I wouldn't have otherwise. So it's good to push yourself, even if you don't do so consistently ;P

Social media is another area where I've heard over and over again that consistency is the key. You don't have to have really long posts, or always use images and links. Just decide how often you're going to post on each platform and stick to it. Easier said than done, right? But I've definitely seen the truth of this one play out. People can't forget about you as easily if you never disappear. And it often takes some exposure before people will follow or interact. So every post counts whether your statistics show that or not.

The same thing applies to blogging. No one appreciates a blogger who appears sporadically, especially if their absence goes unannounced and each random reappearance begins with an apology. Don't do that! You don't have to post often. Once a week is plenty, and maybe you can't manage that often. Fine. Set up guest posts, take a hiatus. All of that is perfectly acceptable. But don't blog every few months and expect people to be okay with that. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to show up regularly to engage the people who follow you.

While I wouldn't say reading requires consistency, I am a much happier person when I do read consistently. Of course, it's gotten really sporadic of late for me. But since it's such a great wind-down for me, I should aim to read a little every day. Then I might read two or three times a week, which would be an improvement! And I'd be able to tackle my TBR list much faster without having to stay up to ungodly hours of the night.

As the newest realization for me ... Jesus time. It does require consistency. Consistently reading the Bible, choosing to do the right thing, putting temptations behind you, praying for wisdom. You can't cultivate a relationship if you don't keep in touch with Jesus. And the best way to do all of those things is by reading the Bible consistently. And by consistently ... I actually mean every day. *sigh* I'm the first to admit that I'm not very good at this. So you're not alone. But don't aim for something like 5 chapters; maybe it's just a verse. But the more the Word of God is in your heart and on your mind, the easier it is to arm yourself with it for each new day. I know this through personal experience, and am trying to get better about starting my day with this. Because otherwise it gets shoved to the bottom of my to-do list.

As Priscilla Shirer pointed out in my Bible Study this week, the urgent things often overtake the important things, when it's only the important things that hold any weight in the light of eternity.

I could add a whole lot more things that I need to be more consistent with: exercising, taking vitamins (I am actually improving here!), doing laundry, cleaning my room, eating breakfast, doing finances ... it goes on ;) This is where I find some scheduling or to-do lists to be helpful. It's hard to be consistent with 100 different things every day! Practice makes perfect. Or as my choir director reminds us, perfect practice makes perfect.

I know I could use better consistency in basically any area you can think of. Do you struggle with consistency? (Please tell me I'm not alone!) What benefits have you found from being consistent?