When I wanted to learn software development, one of the stuff my friend kept iterating was how important it was to show up every day. He would say 30 minutes every day is better than 3 hours once a week. It was difficult then. I do not know how different my life would be if I had taken his advice.
If you are reading this newsletter, I will assume you know the general definition of consistency. I like to define consistency as giving yourself the chance to be lucky over and over again. The average Nigerian attributes the success of a lot of people to being ‘lucky’.
People who got very good at anything had to give ‘luck’ something to work with. You can not show up for 7 days and expect drastic changes. So you try for 7 days and give up because ‘it is not just your thing’?
To give luck more surface area, you have to show up and be on its radar more. If you want better mental health, commit to writing your thoughts down each time you are overwhelmed or anxious. Do it and watch how ‘lucky’ you get with staying on top of your mental health game. If you want to be a better writer, write 300 words every day, read stuff writers have written every day and watch how ‘lucky’ you get with writing. This goes for everything
The thing with being consistent at anything is; the small efforts eventually add up. You cannot be ‘unlucky’ for 365 days.
In one of Ali Abdaal’s newsletters, he mentioned something about ‘last man standing’
The thing is – we all know this is true. We’ve heard enough times about the power of consistency, of sticking to it, of compounding returns over the long-term. The problem is that we don’t execute it. Especially if things aren’t “working” initially, we don’t have enough faith that something good will happen if we stick it out, and we don’t have enough patience to actually stick it out.
To be successful at anything, you have to first understand the power of compounding efforts. The most successful people in any field and at anything are those who have managed to stay in the game longer than everyone else. Everyone at every point in time was a beginner at something. I recently watched Korty’s first Youtube video and Oh my God!
Look at this incredible statistic: In the podcasting world. Apparently, 90% of podcasts don’t make it past episode 3. And 99% don’t make it past episode 20. To be in the top 1% of podcasters globally, you just need to make 21 episodes. That’s it.
This is the role consistency plays in being successful at anything you set out to do. Showing up every day is goated because you are teaching yourself how to be the last man standing. Showing up on the days you are not alone and showing up on the days you are indeed alone. Showing up regardless of how you feel. Just showing up! The best part is that it does not go unnoticed for too long. You just need to have faith in the process that something good will happen if you keep at it.
So matter of factly, consistency does have a big role to play in guaranteeing success. You will give ‘luck’ more to work with, you will demonstrate the last man standing syndrome and eventually you will be so good at what you are doing that it is hard to ignore it.
Community and staying accountable to people has a huge role to play in consistency. I and my new friends at the Elysian Essence Community are hosting a journaling consistency challenge. For 30 days, you will journal everyday and share progress reports on our group.
Join the Instagram group here and the WhatsApp group here.
Also, the Elysian Essence Journal is currently available for purchase on Selar. It is a journal that comes with 100 prompts under 6 categories (Gratitude, Personal Growth, Mindfulness, Productivity, Self-Awareness and Creativity). If you find it hard to figure out what to journal about, this is for you. It can serve a quarter (3 months) of consistently writing every day.
Media I consumed
I referenced 3 newsletters in this post
They are great reads and you should read them too.
I finished reading The Firm by John Grisham and I read Skipping Christmas as well. I am happy for my May book count.
My favourite listen is currently All In by SEU Worship
I guess this is it for this week. I’ll see you next week
Lots, of love,
Oigoga.