Consistency Wins

I was talking to my son Carson about an observation I made since working from home a bit more. I’ve been able to watch Rachel (my wife) every day going about her normal life. Pay attention to Mom, kid.

Rachel works out every single day. She reads her Bible every single day. She eats healthy every single day. She talks to friends every single day. She talks to her Mom every single day. She has all of these habits she’s created which day in and day out don’t seem like huge efforts, but when you stack them up over a lifetime, she ends up looking super-human. She’s the most consistent person I know in terms of her actions and her attitude. I’d say she’s exceptional in so many categories where so many people are average. Myself included.

We talked about where this comes from for Mom. I told him how Grandpa modeled this behavior for Mom and her brothers. Grandpa runs 3-4 days/week and has for 30+ years. He makes his own lunches. He knows every penny he spends. He lifts weights for 10-15 minutes a few days/week. No large crazy efforts but he just consistently puts in the work. Grandma is the same with her habits and those include spending her days and energy serving others. Now look at Mom’s brothers. They all are the same. Each in their own ways, they are diligent and consistent with their efforts towards what they are passionate about.

I told Carson about friends I have that I would consider very successful in both their relationships as well as their finances and their fitness. I told him how these guys didn’t get this way by getting rich quick or having something happen overnight. They have consistently worked hard and developed habits that they apply every day over a long period of time.

I also told him that this is an area I personally struggle in. I like the big flashy short-term efforts and I have a hard time changing long-standing poor habits.

Carson is currently 13 and still pretty sure he’s going to play in the NBA or NFL. We talked about Steph Curry, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, etc... and the fact that these guys are beyond amazing with their natural talent, but how every single day, all year long, they put in the time and effort and training to become world-class athletes. They would never be where they are or stay where they are if they didn’t recognize what habits they need in order to be the absolute best.

As a Dad, these are my favorite conversations. I know that the seeds are being planted for Carson to understand the bigger picture. I’m not saying he’s not going to be an NFL tight-end, b/c my Dad optimism honestly still believes he could be, but I want him to see that he comes from a Mom and a family that is successful in whatever they do b/c they apply the same consistency to their efforts and habits.

Find what you are passionate about, kid, then 3/4ths of the battle is just showing up every-day and putting in the work. Want to know what that looks like? Watch your Mom.