#Day 2: Consistency Vs. Intensity
I was listening to a Brene Brown podcast on Spotify where she was interviewing author James Clear about his NYTBS “Atomic Habits”. The podcast in general was super thought-provoking and damn near made me crash my car from the epiphany lightbulbs I got while driving. During the podcast, there is a moment in the interview when the dialogue shifts to the conversation around consistency vs intensity. The theory is that some only measure success or achievement by the intensity of the task, instead of by the frequency or consistency of completing the task. I never really questioned how I marked the success of an accomplishment, but after a moment and quick reflective exercise, I was met with the realization that I too, like Brene, valued intensity over consistency.
So as I spent my day reveling in the fact that I started my blog, began the 31-day challenge, and made the phone calls to family and friends I still kept feeling like I didn’t do much. I felt like I didn’t push myself. Almost like an echo saying, “If the task didn’t cause me a headache or panic attack then I can do more.” So naturally, as anyone else would do, I allowed that voice to run 100 laps in my head while I sat on the couch eating cameral flavored rice cakes that feel ineffective.
After a 3-hour therapeutic phone call with one of my best friends, I finally muscled up enough energy to leave the house. Initially, it was only to get milk and go read in the rain, but then I started telling myself, “oh, I can go workout since I’ll be out. Oh, I can also go to the park and record an episode, that’ll be productive.” So I packed a bag, two bags actually, and headed out in the rain to accomplish this newly established “to-do list”.
First of all, I hate driving in the rain, but not more than I hate not feeling productive. Then, I had another epiphany lightbulb and considered doing the things I wanted to do the least, first. So it was off to the gym. I got on the treadmill and started up at an 8mph pace. I could usually run a mile with 7-8mins, but today I couldn’t make it past 2 mins without having 4 asthma attacks (I didn’t really, but it sure felt like it). I told myself I’d do a quick ab set to get me back in the mood to run, but 3 crunches in I told myself to stop. I lay on the planet fitness floor and told myself that enough was enough. I didn’t have the energy in me, I was tired and officially okay with it. I was tired of pushing myself to be intense. I was drained from trying to convince myself that I need to “prove that I wanted it”. I don’t think it’s an epiphany lightbulb that went off while I was laying there though. All I kept hearing was “consistency over intensity”.
So after 5 mins of laying in a Shavasana, I politely got up, wiped off the mat, took my check-in photo, and got the hell out of the gym. I damn near ran out of the gym, If I’m being honest. I was so happy to be overworking myself. I got to the car and while the rain was still pouring down, sat in the shopping center and read the introduction to Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini.
I felt so much peace in telling myself it was okay to relax. It was refreshing to allow the bare minimum to be enough for a “good job, Corey.” This newly found grace was something I aimed to sustain from here on out. After 20 mins of reading and annotating, I went to grab some milk and returned home to eat a bowl of cereal while I watched Zeus Network television until I fell asleep. I woke up 6 hours later full of energy, grateful for consistency, and ready to make the very best of my Monday.
I hope this story encourages you to take look at your view of productiveness and effectiveness in your own life. Inquire within about what habits you are more intense than consistent with and vice versa. You might discover that some of those habits you treat with more intensity are harder to maintain. James Clear once said, “A habit cannot be improved until the habit has been started.”
Listen to the podcast episode here.
Carroll Cares Education & Research Group, Inc 