Ellie has a knack of being consistent to the point of ultimate efficiency. The funny thing about this is that I can be the exact opposite. This had to be a trait that she got from her mother. But even I have something to learn from my seven year old daughter.
One thing I was never good at was being consistent. On ANYTHING. I’m talking I was consistent with one thing: being inconsistent. I just couldn’t commit to consistency. There were two things that always plagued me: time management and consistency.
The 10X Rule talked about doing so much work that you don’t have time to think about anything else other than working. That was the best way to stay consistent. Not to mention, I was able to stay on top of my schedule because I had so much going on that I had to pay attention to the time. But managing time? Uh, yea no. That was out the window. But guess what, it was a good thing.
So how does consistency and Ellie go together? Well, out of all of my children, Ellie is THE MOST CONSISTENT CHILD when it comes to getting stuff done.
She’s the one child that I don't ever have to repeat myself 957474738477483 times to do what I told her to do.
She’s the one child that I never have to worry about. The kids have a morning routine. Wake up, make your bed, brush your teeth, get your clothes on. Period. Simple. But as simple as these steps are, kids manage to chop those simple rules up.
Ellie is the only child that does this stuff consistently without anyone saying a single word to her. She’s like clockwork. It never fails. She’s 7 years old. My son is 9 and I have to remind him 3838456999363 times before he gets it going. Now I know all kids are different but this article is to highlight consistency.
My wife and I often do that parent thing when our kids misbehave. You know, when the one child acts up and you both look at each other and say you see that right there? That’s not me that’s you. In other words, that behavior didn’t come from my genes, that bad behavior care from your DNA pool.
Ellie taught me many things by her simple morning routine. Here’s what I learned from my seven year old daughter.
Consistency Creates Trust and Security
The best way to create trust is to be consistent with your actions. Sometimes people think this is a bad thing. I get it. Predictability becomes boring if there isn’t any change. But at the end of the day, we all seek consistency because it gives us security. We trust that the person will perform a certain action every time and we don’t question it. Because they’re reliable. Every. Single. Time.
Reputation is Key
Ellie is like clockwork when it comes to performing her morning routine and just about everything else; homework, house chores, when it’s time to leave, etc.
She’s built a reputation as someone who’s always on it no matter what. She’s always done first and ready to go. It’s got my other kids more focused on her than they are on finishing their own damn responsibilities.
Being consistent can make others recognize your work and also make them question their own abilities in the process. It’s a powerful intangible quality to have.
Relevancy
Ellie is the first child we think about when it comes to giving one of the kids a random present for something they’ve earned. In other words, we like to encourage our kids through “bonuses” by doing more than what’s expected. We also like to reward the intangibles (such as being consistent).
We want them to understand the importance of going the extra mile to vastly separate themselves from the ones that want to be average and put themselves with the elite.
You see, consistency is not my thing. That gene isn’t mine, that’s Michelle’s. But one thing I learned as a parent is that you can learn something from anyone no matter their age.
Ellie has taught me all of these things. When I started my entrepreneurial journey in October 2015, I switched my way of thinking. Instead of just telling my kids what to do, I began to use everything as a teaching moment. I’ve even told them when I’ve fucked up. True story. I don't hold back when it comes to my kids. Why? Because I want them to know that adults fuck up too. We’re not perfect. It’s the wrong and incorrect message to send.
Consistency Pays Off - Fred Blumenberg
I’ve learned a great deal of how to be and stay consistent from my baby girl (BG). I learn every day from her about the importance of being consistent and how that can be perceived by others as intimidating. Yes. Intimidating. Why? Because others sometimes don’t know how you can do something all the time, no matter what. It gets to the point where it becomes like a super power and then others start to pay attention to you more than they pay attention to what they’re doing.
Consistency. It’s your greatest tool to making progress and creating muscle memory. And once you have muscle memory, you don’t know anything are than to just get to work - doing what you’ve always done.
Be awesome all day, everyday.
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