Consistency is key.

If you’ve worked with me, you’ve probably heard this phrase several times.  I practically preach about the importance of being consist.  I give clients the opportunity to explore what they are able to do consistently and focus on that when they aren’t getting results they desire.  It is less important WHAT they do, more important that they do whatever they can consistently.

We teach what we need to learn most.

It’s true.  I struggle with consistency a lot in my life.  I start things, don’t finish.  I have big dreams and desires. Lots of interests.  Easily pulled in different directions by all things shiny.

And this is something I usually keep to myself.

I’m embarrassed by it.  Sometimes feeling downright ashamed.

I opened up to a friend recently about how I felt…about my own struggles with consistency.  She had some very powerful insight that was life-changing for me (thank you, Amy).

She asked for examples and one I shared was about my blog and how inconsistent I am.  I started talking about my journey of having this blog. How I thought I’d started it in 2009 and how I have no focus and how I blog about a variety of topics and I blog whenever I feel like it.  Sometimes that’s daily and sometimes a few months go by with nothing shared.  To me, in my mind, in my little bubble, this was inconsistent and frustrating.  Why didn’t I blog more regularly?  Why couldn’t I get more focused?  After all, aren’t you SUPPOSED to?  SHOULDN’T I do better?

Amy looked at me with a smile and said something along the lines of (I’m definitely paraphrasing here but this was my takeaway), “you’ve blogged now for 5 years and never given up…you’ve had a blog for 5 years….that’s consistent.  you write about whatever you feel guided to write and don’t let others tell you what you should be doing if it doesn’t feel right…you’ve honored how you feel…that’s consistent.  you recognize that life ebbs and flows, as does your blog, and that’s okay…that’s consistent.”

WOW!  What a shift in perspective.  In a short time, I had this completely different view of my blog as this messy and inconsistent sharing of my messy and inconsistent life.  And that couldn’t be further from the truth…although both my blog and life can be quite messy 🙂  AND I could see the correlation to other areas of my life…areas I also viewed as lacking consistency but they actually don’t lack anything at all.

After this conversation, I felt inspired to write and I don’t want to overwhelm my readers so I keep writing and scheduling out further and further down the road.  Every day I want to write…in a different way…because I shifted my perception.

AND, after some reflection, here’s the truth…

I started blogging in April 2008.  That’s 6+ years.

I have just over 1,000 posts published and/or scheduled to be published.  That’s about 3 posts a week on average for 6+ years!

I do write when I feel like it.  I write about what I want.  Oh, I do my research.  I hear what the experts say.  I process what I read and hear in terms of what works.  It’s important to stay on top of all of that so we make educated decisions.  AND, after that’s all said and done, I do whatever the fuck I want.  Whatever feels good to me…honors me because, at the end of the day, that is all that matters.

That’s pretty incredible and powerful.  Outwardly, it appeared inconsistent but the truth is I have maintained this blog (and other aspects of my life) for a long time and in a way that honors me and all that I am.  Thanks to Amy, I can now see all the consistency in my life and the strength that has given me.  How it has gotten me to this place I am in today, which is pretty amazing.

Tell me, sweet thing, what have you been wildly consistent with in your life…in your business?  Where have you doubted yourself…felt you could do better…only to realize you are actually rockin’ it?  Celebrate it today!