THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY
Working out once every three weeks, no matter how hard you go, is not going to do much for your fitness. But working out ten minutes a day? That can completely change your life.
This month at RUN-N-RAVE, we’re talking about about something bigger than running. We’re talking about the key to fitness, to success, and honestly to life itself: consistency.
What does consistency really mean?
When we talk about consistency, two questions usually come up:
What does it mean to be consistent?
Why does it matter?
So to #1, the dictionary gives us two definitions. One is “how thick a fluid is” (this is not the one we want!)
The second definition, the one we’re interested in, is: “the regularity with which something is done.”
There’s a quote that captures this perfectly:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not a personality trait, but a habit.”
You aren’t born a marathoner, or a DJ, or a space explorer.
You become one by showing up again and again until it’s part of who you are.
Why consistency changes everything
Here’s the truth. We’re all normal. People who think they are especially talented or good at things that they never do are lying to themselves (and annoying us all), just like people who think they are especially bad at things that they never do are holding themselves back. We all start off at square one.
Not everyone runs marathons, becomes an elite athlete, achieves the extraordinary. For those who do, it’s much more than luck. It’s not magic. It’s hours. Thousands and thousands of hours or showing up and getting better.
Experts say it takes about 10,000 hours of focused practice to master something. That’s four hours a day for 10 years. And the key word here is focused. You don’t get better at something just by doing it mindlessly (otherwise we’d all be Olympic level phone scrollers. You improve by making an effort to grow.
So whether you’re chasing a world record or just trying to get stronger in your everyday life, the principle is the same. Consistency is what moves you forward.
What consistency Looks Like At RUN-N-RAVE
Let’s take a look at our community.
In 2023, RUN-N-RAVE grew from a little group of friends to a community that shows up every single week at an ungodly hour to do something tough but rewarding.
The difference maker wasn’t talent, perfect training plans, great marketing, free stuff, or any other weird trick - it was consistency.
People who thought they “couldn’t run” found out that running a few kms every Thursday added up to something life changing. We developed fitness, a community, and a whole lot of new identities as runners. A whole lot of RUN-N-RAVERs went from “can’t run” to smashing half marathons just by showing up consistently and taking one step at a time.
This is the crazy thing about consistency, it makes time your friend.
Showing up once every three weeks? Nothing happens.
Showing up every day? Big growth over time.
Consistency is how beginners become experts, and how our community became a movement.
