Consistency is important on a personal level. Continuing to show up will instill confidence in you. Consistency has the power to make you feel unstoppable.
The issue is that people become too wrapped up in results, in conversions, and in general numbers. I think it’s important to recognize that consistency is equally, if not more, important for you on a personal level than it is for social validation.
Sure, consistency may help grow your list, subscribers, followers, whatever, but what if you could flip a switch one day and all of those numbers were there for you? What would you have accomplished? How would you feel?
It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re in pursuit of social growth which tends to be measured by numbers, but rarely is that what you’re actually pursuing. The numbers are irrelevant and will always be irrelevant. Growth and happiness stems from an internal and personal position, and cannot begin externally.
With that being said, what you’re really striving for when you’re trying to increase your metrics isn’t more followers, it’s probably more influence, more purpose, more connection, more money, more freedom, more discussion, more engagement, more satisfaction, more challenge, more happiness or something similar. None of which is measured by some generalized total.
What you need to do is figure out what you’re really looking for—what you really want. I’ll tell you right now, the answer isn’t followers, subscribers, etc. There are hundreds of sites you can go on right now to increase those numbers. You can pay a very small amount and instantly see those numbers jump, but that’s not what you really want. So figure out what that actually is, so it may then inform the actions of your life because when you recognize you’re working for something other than followers, your focus begins internally rather than externally.
For myself, I’m not interested in more subscribers, I’m interested in more discussion. I’m interested in challenging others thinking. I’m interested in challenging my own thinking. These three interests contribute to something larger, wanting to better myself as a designer, runner, and person. If I can engage in more discussion, challenge others thinking, and challenge my own, I’m putting myself in a position of being more articulate, empathetic, and inviting to challenge.
Remaining on the topic of consistency: writing here every week, fighting the difficulty to write every morning, and always pushing myself to think differently gives me courage. So I find ways to remain consistent in other aspects of my life. Waking up at 4:30 every morning not only keeps me disciplined, but proves to myself I can accomplish what I set out to do. I’ve established a reputation of not only being up early, but also getting places early all through being consistent.
Even finding one thing to be consistent with will have a profound effect on your life.
What is most important to note, is that all of my consistency derives from one thing: running. Once I developed the habit of running consistently, I began to understand I can be consistent doing anything. Running every morning is a constant reminder and direct example of how consistently showing up is integral to my own growth. Even finding one thing to be consistent with will have a profound effect on your life.
To conclude, it feels appropriate to reiterate the first paragraph: Consistency is important on a personal level. Continuing to show up will instill confidence in you. Consistency has the power to make you feel unstoppable. What are you doing consistently? What can you be doing consistently? How might consistency bring you growth?