Consistency versus Intensity
We need consistency first in order to build intensity later on.
When acquiring any habit in life, being consistent at the beginning is much more important than being intense. If you think about it, anybody can be intense for a day. Anybody can have one intense workout. Or one intense writing session. Or one intense workday. Or one intense time of prayer and meditation. But the real question is this: can they do it on a regular and consistent basis? So what if a person goes intense for one or two days but slacks off for the rest of the year? Those few intense days will be practically useless. Consistency trumps intensity when it comes to acquiring habits.
If you develop good consistency, you'll have the chance to develop the intensity later on. When I was developing my prayer habits, I sought first to be consistent. I prayed every day—even when it was hard and even if it didn't meet my "personal standards" of what I thought it should look like. I didn't always have “good” prayer days. But I still engaged in it nonetheless. And I did it every single day. What I aimed to do was develop consistency in praying. Now that I'm quite consistent, I can focus on developing the intensity. I can work on the length of my prayer times. I can consider new and creative ideas for prayer. I can experiment and adjust. I can work on growing my prayer life because I already have the consistency in place. If I didn't have consistency, I wouldn't have the opportunity to deepen my prayer habit.
I use this principle for other things as well such as writing and working out. Early on, I focused on writing consistently even if the output wasn't all that good. With consistency, I can develop my writing style and explore various topics to write about. I also focused on exercising consistently first even if the sessions weren't always good. With consistency, I can now develop different workout routines and increase the intensity of the sessions. We need consistency first in order to build intensity later on.
Additionally, when I'm not feeling particularly motivated or I'm quite tired or I'm just not up to the task, I remind myself to simply focus on consistency again. I don't have to go intense for the session. I just need to show up and do something, even if it's the bare minimum. If I can continue being consistent with the habit, I will have the chance to work at the intensity again much later on.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
