The Power of Consistency: an Instructive Ritual of My Dog / by Alexander Lyadov

My Australian Heeler can sleep like a log in the corner while I make myself breakfast. But as soon as I get up from the table, he's already at my feet, like saying, "Look, I'm ready." I don't remember how it happened, but the dog decided we have a ritual where he gets a treat in exchange for a short training session. Sometimes I'm not in the mood or don't have time for these games, so he doesn't get anything. Nevertheless, every day the dog persistently performs its part of the ritual, like a shaman. And you know what, his approach works because I respond much more often than I would have thought. With his readiness, he seems to say, "My offer is always on the table. Take it or leave it."

One of the most underrated qualities in business is consistency. Usually, people are so consumed by the desire to achieve something that they are willing to make one energetic sprint, hoping to become a queen in one move. But such excessive desire scares or confuses others, and despite the superhuman effort, the rewards people seek may remain out of reach. If these false starts happen often, anyone will feel trapped by irritation, despair, and fatigue.

It's much more productive to leash your desire and distribute your energy in small doses over a long horizon. Then each small but inevitable movement lifts the load higher, like a winch or jack. There's no epic in such efforts that inspire writers and poets, but this is how the most significant changes happen in nature, like the movement of tectonic plates. Nothing convinces customers, employees, investors, and competitors of your superpower like the consistency of your efforts, day after day, in spite of everything. In a world filled with so much artificiality, fakery and insincerity, only time allows us to recognise those who simply cannot be anything but themselves. Consistency signals authenticity.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander


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