Be Consistent

I have been thinking over the past few days about the term “consistency”, and I would like to share some of my thoughts with you in this write-up “Be Consistent”.

What is consistency? I like this definition by Merriam-Webstar Dictionary.

My Thoughts

We often lose passion, fire, and sometimes faith when our results do not reflect our efforts. Imagine that you have a new business idea or found a new job listing that looks like what you want. And there you are, super excited about that thing, and with that joy, you zealously plunge into it, expecting the results you envisaged immediately. Imagine that the results didn’t turn out as expected, or maybe you have absolutely nothing to show for it; at this stage, giving up and waiting for fresh inspiration seems the most plausible option. I am here to tell you not to fall for that temptation. Your efforts matter. Your ability to keep at it consistently, a little here; a little there, will ensure the victory at last. It is in your consistency that you find the way, that you hit the spot. Be Consistent!

The Story

In 2007, I had a life-changing experience in Malakamanza, a village in North-East Kenya. The closest town, Garissa, was about 3-4 hours by road. Garissa is about a day’s journey from Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. It happened that some students in the United States planned to visit Malkamanza to see the work the missionaries were doing there. They set a travel date, raised funds for the journey, and left for Malkamanza from their university. The students travelled from the US to Kenya, arrived in Nairobi, and started the journey from Nairobi to Garissa. They encountered some challenges on the road (I think their bus broke down), but they continued to Garissa. They got to Garissa and embarked on the final leg to Malkamanza. By this time, they were exhausted.

About 2 hours into the trip, their vehicle broke down again (by this time (it must have been about 10 pm), they were already in the neighbouring village and had only about an hour more to travel). When this happened, the students had lost the willpower to continue and they were exhausted. A few people from our team went to the neighbouring village, fixed the vehicle and tried to convince them to continue the journey. They spent the night in that village, and at first light the following morning, they returned to Nairobi. They never got to Malkamanza. Yet they were so close, just one hour more, and they would have arrived at their destination! The story is not fiction. The story is my personal experience, one I find most instructive.

The Reaction Required

It is easy for many to read this and condemn those students for being “ridiculous”, short-sighted and lacking in forbearance and patience; after all, they had endured the journey and were only one hour away from their destination. But you see, their experience describes many of our current realities. We start something, a new job, a project, a business, with all the excitement and joy and can hardly wait to enjoy the results.

Sometimes, we face challenges that weaken us. We become so tired that we forget the goal. It gets worse; in this state of frustration and discouragement, God sends us people who tell us we are very close to our destination. They encourage us to keep at it; sometimes, they tell us that challenges are part of the process; they tell us we will overcome, and so on. But you see, sometimes, we have been strong for too long, and we have run out of energy or zeal to continue, and many times, at this stage, the easiest thing to do is give up! 

Listen, if you are reading this, I want you to know that you are only one hour away from your destination. Don’t turn back now, don’t give up now. Put in that final effort, publish that post on your social media, submit that application, do whatever you need to do, send out that newsletter, call that client, do that thing again and don’t stop until you get there. Be consistent till you get there!

Final Words

So get up, pat yourself on the back and dig some more, put in some effort and keep at it. Before you realize it, you would have hit the goal and moved forward. You already have the strategy; you most likely know what to do. But in the frustration, it is easy for a person to forget or make light of what they need to do and to do everything else but what they need to do. As an organization, we have worked hard to be true to our values and be consistent about delivering value to businesses.

Shake off the frustration and do what you must do. Don’t stop till you get there.

I encourage you to be CONSISTENT!