Consistency
Eight hundred dollars. Eight hundred dollars may or may not be a lot of money for you, but it has important significance for me. Eight hundred dollars was the amount I paid every month to pay off my house in eleven years. Then $800.00 was the amount I paid monthly for the next five years to knock out my school loans. Next, $800.00 a month went into a retirement account. For the last five years, I’ve thrown $800.00 a month at a motorhome loan. I think you get the idea. It took 25 years to own my home, my education, and my tiny house, and to prepare for retirement, and it would not have happened without consistency.
With my uncle in 2009, I rode across the state of Michigan. The organized ride is called the PALM, which stands for Pedal Across Lower Michigan. After riding 50 miles a day for seven days, I gained the confidence to ride my bike across the country. The following summer, a group of 32 goal-oriented cyclists rode our bikes from San Francisco to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We averaged 80 miles a day for 47 days out of 52 through the heat, the cold, the wind, and the rain. We endured Interstate 80, and traversed washed out roads, hills, mountains, and flatlands. When our front wheels hit the Atlantic, my odometer read 3888 miles. Our consistency led us to the completion of our goal—a goal of mine since age ten.
Beginning January 1, 2020, I read my Bible 30 minutes a day. By December 31st, I had read the entire Bible—a latent goal since my teens. Now I have repeated this goal each year, adding a scripture journal for more depth. In addition, this year I have read 1-3 Edgar A. Guest poems, read 30 minutes of a book, read 2-3 blogs, listened to 30 minutes of a book on audible, and listened to at least one podcast consistently six-seven days a week.
Last year, as a challenge with a family member, we each powered through one push-up each day the first week of January. The second week, we muscled out two push-ups a day. By the third week, we were habitually knocking out three push-ups a day. And so, the pattern of adding one push-up per week continued. We kept each other accountable and encouraged each other as the weeks turned into months. The last week of 2022, we completed 52 push-ups a day, which totaled 9653 push-ups for the year. Nearly 10,000 push-ups started with a goal and one push-up.
Recently, in an act of solidarity to support a friend, I agreed to refrain from sugar and caffeine for ten days. As of this writing, I have survived 31 days without two of the most addictive substances known to man. My kudos to those who have quit the hard stuff.
Why have I told you about my goals—most of which I have not told more than one or two people? I’m telling you to encourage you to set your own goals and to remind myself of the resources I have to draw from for my next challenge. Every accomplishment gives me confidence to achieve another.
For 50 years, I’ve had the goal of writing a book. Last year, I wrote a rough draft. This year, I edited the rough draft 20-30 hours a week. In June, when I got stuck, really stuck, I quit. However, that drive deep inside my gut pushed me to pick up my manuscript and start anew. Most worthwhile goals do not come without a struggle.
Have you quit a goal? Do you have a financial, physical, health, spiritual, task, or family-related goal? Let’s refocus together. Post in the comments or send me an email if you are up for a 28-day challenge. I’m asking you to commit to yourself that you will do something every day for the next 28 days that will bring you closer to your goal. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you reach your goal (s). I want to support you as you are supporting me. All it takes is a little consistency.