How Consistency Trumps the Quest for Perfection
It finally happened; I broke my streak of writing every week on Medium. It was the only part of my writing cadence that fell off, as I still posted on X daily and sent my newsletter. I’m not upset about it, and I know why it happened. I hit the idea generation wall, and instead of facing the challenge, I avoided it. I won’t be beating myself up about it, and this article represents the start of a new streak.
No matter what you’re working on, showing up daily can be challenging. I learned this through personal (weight loss) and professional life (military career) experiences. During both, there were times when I wasn’t feeling it, and work felt like a grind. Some of it I can chalk up to life; others were because I lacked proper mental fortitude or the moment. What do all these moments have in common? They serve as points to learn from and opportunities to improve.
A lesson here is that perfection isn’t possible, and you limit yourself when you think it is. On the other side lies the real star player — consistency. When you break a streak, it’s easy to knock yourself when you slip up. Instead, give yourself credit for the progress you made. Chances are you’ve made much more than you give yourself credit for.
