Consistency and Hard Work

Hard work was part of my childhood. I can mostly thank my dad for that. I have a lazy streak that runs deep, and there was no place for lazy while I was growing up.

Wood had to be gathered for the winter, so every Thanksgiving, we would load, split, and stack. There had to be enough in the woodshed to last so that we didn't run out mid-February.

Chickens and pigs had to be fed, even when it was -35 degrees outside. So we'd bundle up and trek out with buckets of warm water and containers of slop.

Brush had to be cleared, gardens weeded, lawns mowed, snow shoveled, the house cleaned. Someone had to do it.

The work of my childhood is something I am proud of and extremely grateful for. It gave me a gift -- a hard work mindset.

I took that with me to work at a landscaping company, which was sucky work no matter the day. Hour after hour of stacking bricks, shoveling rocks, pulling weeds, hauling water, stacking pallets, and throwing sod rolls. When it was sunny, it was hot. When it was raining, it was miserable. It was a great job.

As my readers know, recently I joined a workout group. Sisu Strength Academy. I looked up the word "sisu" online soon after I joined. The top result is "stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness."

The workouts are tough. I always avoided workouts like before that because I thought, "Well, who wants to do that anyway. Flipping tires, rowing like crazy... Nope. Nope."

But now, when the workouts are hard, I think about my dad. I think about hauling that wood in the autumn and getting up at the crack of dawn to water the chickens. I think about what sustained me through those hours of shoveling road crush every summer. A purpose. A goal. The sense of being on a team. The feeling of pride when the work was done and knowing you did the best you could.

Growing up, my family was my team. I had to do my part. The landscaping work was rewarding at the end of the day, but it also helped pay for my tuition. I saved every dollar possible.

So, hard work has its place. But if you work hard for day, what have you got?

Sore muscles maybe.
One job well done.

The really tough thing though is to get up and do it again the next day. Consistency and hard work are pals. Buddies.

Consistency is the thing that keeps you working hard. Seeing the big picture. Shoveling more rocks even when you're tired and want to quit. Eating the salad anyway, even when everyone else is eating pizza.

Consistency is the ocean beating against the rocks of your bad habits and limitations. The wave smashes down on the rock again and again and again. One wave wouldn't make a difference. Thousands of waves, millions of waves turn that rock into sand.

So, what has consistency and hard work done for me the past three months?

 

The picture on the left is May 2019. The picture on the right is August 2019. Three months of hard work. Three months of consistency. There's still a long way to go.

How do you stay consistent? You dig in. You accept that you might be uncomfortable, and then you forge ahead anyway.

Sisu. Tenacity of purpose. Thanks, Dad.