Consistency is the Glue

Did you spend time reflecting on what people would say about you right now? What did you decide are the important values you want people to remember you for at the end of your life? Are those values things you’re living right now or are there some things you need to emphasize more?

Have you watched any of the Olympics yet? For so many reasons, I love this time. The athletic talent is beyond amazing, the sense of country is uplifting, and the overall message is something to take to heart for each of us. In addition, I love the personal stories.

If you watch the interviews with the athletes before and after their events, you will hear a common theme: hard work, dedication, sacrifice, support of family and friends, strengthening both physical and mental skills, a positive attitude, the importance of setting goals, daily focus, determination, and a passion to reach the Olympics.

In listening to the individual stories, I hear, almost to an athlete, the challenges which they have faced along their journey to the Olympics. Some of those challenges were injuries, doubts coming from others, overcoming challenges, and even self-doubt.

Michael Phelps’ story is also one of overcoming. Despite his success in the pool, his life “was spiraling out of control.” He actually put himself in rehab. He was open to therapy, and he dealt with his “demons.” Coming out of these challenges, Michael is now enjoying the Olympics like no other time, he has reconnected with his dad, and he became a dad himself two months ago.  "With everything that's happened, being able to come back, that's probably harder than any swim I've had in my life."

Have you ever considered the time investment for these athletes? We don’t see the day in day out grind, the sacrifices they make, the daily demands, and the choices they make in order to reach their goals? Have you ever considered the time investment in some of the world’s greatest achievements?

          It took 26 months to build the Eiffel Tower.

          It took DaVinci 4 years to paint the Mona Lisa.

          It took Michelangelo 4 years to paint the Sistine Chapel.

          It took Leo Tolstoy 6 years to write War and Peace.

And we get impatient when the computer doesn’t boot up fast enough. Would you be willing to make the kind of sacrifices our Olympic athletes or any athlete for that matter commits to in order to reach their dreams? The dream of being the first person in the family to get a college degree because football, volleyball, basketball, soccer etc. gave them that opportunity. What is that worth? It doesn’t come without a sacrifice, yet what is that worth? Each of the Olympians, each of the athletes reporting to camp this fall, each of us in our goals to have a healthy marriage/relationship, financial success, a healthy body, a successful job/career, and a positive mindset all have made a decision to invest our time wisely.

According to John Maxwell, “Time is the one commodity each person gets in equal measure. As songwriter Chris Rice wrote, ’Every day is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one’s rich, nobody’s poor – we all get 24 hours each.” Are you investing your time wisely? We spend many hours each day on things that are not bringing us anything in return. According to the website Digital Trends, “Americans now spend an average of 4.7 hours a day looking at social media on their phones.” That is an amazing statistic and a sad one.

Social media, in my opinion, has its positives; however, the negatives are also taking its toll.  Is it investing time wisely if you “don’t have time” and the reason is you’ve spent so much time looking at what others are doing on social media? Have we become a culture that doesn’t appreciate time anymore? Is that instant gratification and micro wave thinking taking over? As John Maxwell said, “Our default setting is impatience.”

Relationships, our health, personal growth, our finances etc. all of these areas need an investment of time. “The good news: you can very easily make improvements in the way you invest your time. All it takes is one simple habit.” CONSISTENCY!

There is power in CONSISTENCY. Consistency means you give a little bit of time to each area every day, and you stick with it. It’s the discipline to stick with it that yields not only tangible results of the investment, but the internal rewards as well. You learn to increase the time you give each area. You become more aware of how you’re wasting time. You get sharper, smarter, and more focused as a result.”

“When you live with consistency, you learn that the rewards you seek in life don’t come after you take one step; they come when you’ve taken a journey to a place you’ve never been. The habit of consistency, will allow you to be able to live like Coach John Wooden said – making each day your masterpiece.”

As we watch our athletes perform at the Olympics, as you watch sporting events this fall, as you listen to music, attend a concert, or watch a play, remember these are people who have dedicated their time, consistently, to achieve all that they have achieved. It didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t without sacrifice.

I wish you a week of evaluating how you’re using your time and how you can consistently focus on taking one step forward to reach your dreams and goals. Will it be in your personal development, your finances, your health, your mindset, in your job, in the classroom, in your sport or craft? You decide.