The Key To Success Is Being Consistent. Or is it?

"Just be consistent" is probably the biggest insult to injury to someone with a chronic illness.

I will not argue that the “internet powers that be” love a good consistent blog, Substack post, social media account. I will not even argue that we as humans don’t love and crave consistency.

But, can we be considered reliable and successful with a tiny bit of inconsistency? I say yes. 🤞🏼

I have to believe that I will earn your trust, create a wonderful space for you and be successful while also being a tiny bit inconsistent at times.

The last couple of weeks have been laughable and it simply led to me not being able to be online for a few weeks.

I do not take being absent and not posting lightly. It frustrates me and I spiral a bit. I’m pretty dramatic and this area of my life is not immune to a good existential crisis simply because I didn’t post for a few weeks.

I have heard the analogy of juggling balls. Some are glass and some are rubber. Focus on never dropping the glass balls and only the rubber.

Laundry, parenting, maintaining the house, groceries, tending to my marriage are all glass balls.

Going out with friends, writing on the internet, are things I do not want to drop, but that must be dropped when my body and life limits what I can do in a day. They are the rubber balls.

What will not be dropped is our private chat on Substack. I will be in there several times a week.

Honestly? It sucks.

I love showing up and offering support and encouragement to our little community.

I want to create a space that I didn’t have when all I could do in a day was scroll on my phone in bed.

If that means I sometimes show up inconsistently, I will have to be okay with it. This directly goes against my Type A tendencies. I’ll work through it. My hope and goal is that one day, I will have the health, schedule and team to never miss a post.

Until then, I will give myself the grace that I am doing the absolute best that I can and there was once a time that all I wanted was to be able to sit at my computer and write.

If you are struggling with consistency, I see you.

I see the things that you do not let fall through the cracks.

I see the things you have to say no to even though you don’t want to.

I see the frustration and heartbreak.

You. Are. Doing. Great.

It sucks.

So many people would just give up, but not you. You keep going, and I see you.

Great job! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Maybe the consistency we should focus on is that we keep trying.

That we focus on the effort and the action, not the result.

Sometimes missing the mark, but we keep getting up and starting again.