We moved from Pittsburgh to Raleigh in early Spring 2014. Now we’ve moved back from Raleigh to Pittsburgh this fall. It’s hard to sort through your stuff, pack it up and move it several states over. It’s even harder to leave relationships you’ve started, knowing they won’t be the same when you’re hundreds of miles apart. Moving is hard.
But it’s even harder to stay. It’s hard to maintain relationships come hell or high water (or children or distance). It’s hard to go to the same job year after year and put 100% in each day. It’s easier to quit. It’s easier to walk away. It’s easier to run.
You can do something for a brief moment that is beautiful and valuable. But those who consistently put in the sacrificial work are the ones that make the most sustainable difference.
Consistency is hard. But its rewards are great.
Why consistency is hard:
- Rewards aren’t immediate.
- New is exciting. Think about a new job, a new house, a new love – they all offer hope of something greater than what we already know. So new is inherently exciting and consistency generally isn’t.
- Consistency can mean you’re unseen. When you are consistent, people may take your consistency for granted and you may feel unseen. However, a benefit of your consistency is that random drama likely won’t follow you like a bad penny.
Why consistency is worth it:
- Trust is built over time. Healthy relationships are formed through mutual trust. And healthy relationships are rare and valuable. They are mutually life-giving, beneficial and enriching.
- We can be improved through consistency. When we deny ourselves and consistently sacrifice for others, we become better people. We find when we give our lives away, we are better for it.
- We achieve great feats through consistency. Great achievements are completed by consistent work. A marathon, a skyscraper and a life-well lived are all built through consistent steps. Those who have consistently sacrificed themselves for others are the greats of history.
We might decide to move a mountain in a major life-decision moment. But it’s in our day-to-day consistent work that we actually move the mountain, shovel by shovel. It’s when we are consistent in the seemingly mundane and the boring steps that we actually create major change.
Let’s encourage each other in consistency, in the less-than-glamorous day-to-day. Because we are all changing the landscape, one shovel at a time.
Image info: Original image by Paul E. Harrer.
About the Author: Lindsey Tolino comes alongside artisans, craftsman and people monetizing their passions to help them create healthy businesses. She shares her heart at ToBusinessOwners.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyTolino or connect with her on Google+ .
