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Consistency

 


At a business conference a few years ago, a fellow attendee walked up to me, made a comment about my chest muscles (hey, my eyes are up here, buddy!) and then proceeded to ask what exercise I used to get that way. What was my secret? Bench press? Incline press? Dumbbells? Cable flyes?

Since the ship of normal human interaction had already sailed at this point, I was probably a little less gracious than I could have been. In my caught-off-guard-state, I told him my “secret” was I had not skipped a workout in ten years. Feeling a bit bad about my initial response, I further explained that the specific exercises did not matter nearly as much as his long-term commitment to whatever choices he made.

In our tweet, text, at-your-fingertips, microwave, Instant Pot, instant gratification world, it is easy to overlook consistency. Our society as a whole lacks the stamina to stick with commitments long enough to see the benefits come to light. Instead, we search for the shortcut, the quick-fix and the magic formula. We want the “secret.”

There is no meal so healthy that you never have to think about your eating habits ever again. There is no workout so effective that you no longer must commit to staying active. There is no financial decision so impactful that you never have to make a plan for your money in the future. There is no love note so eloquent that you never have to remind your spouse how much you care about them in the future.

Living an abundant life is less about what you do at single moment in time, and more about what you always do. Details matter, but the nuances of a commitment will probably be the determining factor in the impact it makes in your life. It is less about the specifics of the path you chose, and more that you do not stop. That is consistency.

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