I am inconsistently consistent

I’ve felt a somewhat paradox in my life.

I feel so inconsistent yet at the same time very consistent in the work I do.

For about 3 years, pretty much every Monday, I’ve sent out a weekly community newsletter. That’s consistent!

The time of sending them hasn’t been. I often get behind schedule and send it later than I would like. Yes, I even use the excuse that it’s still Monday in the USA to call it a Monday newsletter my (UK) time.

The content within it is not very consistent either. I’m always changing it up. Sometimes it’s because of the content I have found that week. Other times I feel bored with the layout. Sometimes I’m just in the mood to shake things up.

I am inconsistently consistent.

I also consistently publish an article pretty much every week on Rosieland. I’ve been trying for a set day every week, but 3 years in I am still not there. Every week I publish on a different day. Sometimes I do one a week, sometimes two! My style of post and writing changes often too.

I am inconsistently consistent.

I’ve been showing up here to this Indiependent blogletter. I consistently show up at least once a month, but I’ve also tried doing daily posts. Then back to sporadic-ness of once or twice a week. I might find my flow one day.

I am inconsistently consistent.

I am consistent with my values. I know what and who I stand for. I have boundaries. I am inconsistent in how I react to situations related to my values. Sometimes I rage. Other times I quietly walk away. It also drives me to create with distraction, inconsistently.

I am inconsistently consistent.

I push forward in a consistent direction. Professionally I’ve consistently cared about three main things (community, business, education). My focused time and energy has been consistent over the years, but inconsistent when looked at week by week, or month by month.

I am inconsistently consistent.

I consistently get my best ideas when I do inconsistent things. Take time out. Go for a walk. Read a book. Have an early night. I do my best to write them down or be inspired by them consistently.

The world is not consistent.

The world is not consistent. Humans are not robots. We live in seasons and rapidly changing times. Yet consistency is preached as a hustle. The streaks. The reps. The graphs.

It’s not that consistency is bad. It’s more that it can lead to mediocracy and waste. We force ourselves to show up. To be consistent. To produce because that is the schedule, not necessarily because it is good.

We are so focused on consistency that we forget to look up and smell the coffee.

We fail to look at what we are really doing. And we forget to ask ourselves the most important questions of our lives.