I have 3 non-negotiable bedtime routines: reading a chapter of the Bible, doing 30 squats, and making a journal entry every night before I sleep. Recently, I realized that 30 squats a day translated into 150 in a week and 10,950 in a year. Reading a chapter daily meant reading through the Bible every 3.3 years. If I kept at it for 10 years, I’d have read through the Bible three times. I started journaling in an exercise book in 2008. Today I have 40-50 books (Note 1) filled with writings capturing various experiences over the course of my life. These 3 routines are simple; easy to do, and easy to skip. Whenever I’m tempted to miss a day’s 30 squats out of convenience, I remember the compounded loss of skipping consistently. Jesus had a consistent prayer life. Joseph was consistently diligent. Judas was a consistent thief and the Devil is a consistent liar. What are you consistent at? Is it helpful, or it isn’t? What are you consistent at? Is it helpful or not? Until last year, journaling every night was not a habit. I would miss days and try to catch up later. It was tedious, and an inefficient use of time. Commiting to making the entry every night was one of most helpful things I did for myself. Either way, consistency pays. What good habits will you decide to be consistent at? What bad habits will you decide to consistently skip? Remember the compounded reward, and the cost. So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. (Gal 6:9GNT)
The Consistency Magic
There was always strong resistance whenever the new music teacher suggested that the organ be moved from the left to the right side of the stage. His argument was that the ventilation and lighting was better there. The authorities would not budge; the organ didn’t either. So he took matters into his own hands. Before morning service everyday he would shift the organ only a few inches to the right. By the end of the year the organ was at the centre of the stage. Another year later, it was just where he wanted it to be. No one complained. No one even noticed it. Small changes made consistently did the trick. Most of us have terrific ambitions. We dream about things and we get excited about them. But a few days afterwards the dream loses flavour and becomes cold. It’s either too big and we don’t imagine how we will ever get it done or sometimes we even start work on it, don’t see any fruit, then quit. Nehemiah knows a thing or two about dreams and ambitions. When he heard that “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and it’s gates have been burned with fire”* it disturbed him. He felt the burden to rebuild the wall that was about 4km long, 12m high and 2.5m thick. To put it in perspective, it is like building a wall around the University of Ghana with a height like that of a 4 storey building and a width thicker than the height of Yao Ming (2.29m). It should have taken years to complete. But it took just “fifty-two days.” ^^ Because, they were committed to it, everyone got on board and, most importantly, they worked every single day “from the first light of dawn till the stars came out.” ^^^ Consistency is the magic that turns dreams into reality. Do you want to read through the Bible, memorize scripture, become a prayer warrior? Do you want to lead excellently, accomplish a big goal, impact millions of young people? Do you want to become rich, be an expert in a field, win the best teacher award? Then you have to invest in it regularly. In your regular acts of investments don’t bite more than you can chew or bite so small that you can’t even taste. Do only enough at a time, build a routine around it and make sure it is something you can continue at for, say, the next 5 years. Consistency is the magic that turns dreams into reality. My main struggle with consistency is that I give up too early because I want to see the results now! When I was struggling with my Bible reading a wise man told me: “Some days you will feel like reading and some days you won’t feel like reading. Whatever the feeling, read anyway.” That advice was priceless. Today, I loan it to you. *Nehemiah 1:3 ^^Nehemiah 6:15 ^^^Nehemiah 4:21