It hit me earlier tonight, that oh so lovely friend of mine self-doubt began to creep in. For reference, I run a bi-weekly gaming stream on Facebook and average over a hundred views and usually some friendly banter in my comments section. This week was different, I felt like my viewership was declining... I felt discouraged.
This blog aims to help remind me that consistency is far more than " just doing something all the time," it's doing it despite getting unfavorable results.
Although my schedule isn't "official" yet, I've been streaming bi-weekly for 10 weeks straight. Every Monday and Friday since I started! I played a new game today instead of what I usually play on my streams. Even when I'm dedicating the time, it feels like my progress doesn't move—Rather I'm not aware of how far I have already come.
I get more impatient than most people, when I post a blog to Steemit I can't help but be scared—What if nobody reads it? That gut-wrenching déjà vu and I know! I think it's crucial to remember that consistency isn't the solve all deus ex machina that it is often preached to be, it's only one of the ingredients.
Compounding Effort
When we think of results we think of hustling, "how much can I get done in x amount of time?" If not, we shift our focus to schedules; "if I do x this many times per week, I will get results"—Like going to the gym. Content creation, art, and other types of projects aren't like going to the gym or to work.
All of the small details... These add up over time and is what I feel to be the unsung hero of progress. Although my stream didn't end on a high-note, today I somehow gained a YouTube sub even though I haven't posted in a few months, I got some likes on a Twitter post I did a few days ago, and a new IG follower out of what appeared to be nowhere. I thought to myself; "Oh why is this person following me? I didn't do anything new," not realizing what was already done in the past. It's as though when going through the motions, we expect a certain result. When we don't get that result, we become discouraged and stop taking actions. Would you continue to do something when there are no results?
That's what I had caught myself thinking... Until I realized that the results did come. Just not when I expected. I gave up before I could see the end game.
This realization caused me to truly assess the different projects I've been working on, and how far I've already come. You may have noticed that I sell trading cards on eBay. Well, when I started there was a 30-day hold on all of my sales. When I reached a certain threshold they removed it. Now my payments are automatic, it just happened like that one day. I didn't know this going in, but now I can sell things on a reasonable basis.
I also mentioned a while back that I would start repurposing my older Steemit blogs for Kindle eBooks. You can self-publish books for free? Months ago I took one of my blogs and went through the process to get my book published. Guess what? Since then, I've been receiving random payments of 4 cents every couple of months when people read it. I mean it's only 12 pages long, but it is something and the possibilities make it exciting. I completely forgot I even tried making an e-book, until I got another payment just recently. I think it's the coolest thing, and hear me out. Blogs that I wrote months or even years ago, can earn me a passive income long after the vote payout ended.
Results are About the Long Game
Sure, it would be excellent if everything were like a video game, and the results were automatic. Consistency is only the beginning of the compounding effort.
You never truly know how one thing you'll do will affect something else.
...And being consistent aims to help a person put effort on a regular basis and provide a person with more opportunities to succeed.
