MAKING
BILLTalks
YOU
MATTER BY BILL MARSH, JR
Why Consistency Always Wins Over Intensity
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAQUELINE SOUTHBY
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I read an inspirational blog post from local entrepreneur and leadership author Angie Morgan about a documentary she viewed at the Traverse City Film Festival. The film, After So Many Days, chronicled one year in the life of a twoperson band—Jim and Sam—and their decision after innumerable setbacks promoting their music, to do something drastic. They set out on a year-long tour with one mission: to perform every single day for the entire year—even if it meant playing for patrons in a neighborhood coffee shop or customers at a random liquor store. Or serenading to a food delivery guy: for one whole year, they were going to be relentless in pursuing their dream. (You can check out the film trailer on YouTube—it’s inspiring!) To me, their story is another reminder of the under-appreciated importance of consistency in a world that loves intensity. Let’s face it. We are a society that loves quick wins and flashy paint jobs over slow, steady, consistent, and often-mundane change. In Aesop’s famous fable, we tend to identify more with the dashing hare than the plodding tortoise. But just as the faster hare ended up losing the race, so intensity is never enough if you’re committed to winning. Author Simon Sinek puts it this way:
“Intensity is like going to the dentist. We know when we’re going, how long we will be there, and when we’re done. Our teeth will be smooth and look pearly. But if that’s all we do, eventually, our teeth will fall out. Intensity is not enough, so we need to brush our teeth twice a day. What does brushing your teeth for 2 minutes do for you? Nothing…unless you do it every single day.”
You can apply Sinek’s observations in so many areas of work and life: • Every day try to eat a salad and save a burger and fries for once in a while. • Go to the gym for 30 minutes every day versus for four hours occasionally. • Reading for 20 minutes a day from a content-rich leadership book versus attending a three day leadership conference once a year. • Schedule a weekly date night with your spouse versus only a romantic getaway weekend at an expensive resort for your 20th anniversary. In every case, choosing consistency over intensity will, in the beginning, produce no measurable impact on your physical health, leadership capacity, or relational intimacy. But over six months, two years, or 10 years, it will transform your life… like it transformed Jim and Sam’s lives in the film. For the record, intensity is awesome! I love attending conferences, pushing myself at the gym, and planning vacations with my wife. But if you’re committed to lasting, meaningful transformation, it’s the accumulation of little things that, over time, lead you to become the best version of yourself. Here’s a question to consider: What’s one area of your life where swapping intensity for consistency would have the greatest impact?
APRIL/MAY 2021 | BAYLIFE MAGAZINE
63
