Consistency Trumps Intensity
I went to the dentist this week for the first time in a little while. Normally, I’ve been very consistent with my cleanings, but it had been a bit longer than usual since my last visit.
While I had been taking pretty good care of my teeth (brushing regularly, flossing, etc), there was still more for them to do than if I had gone back to the dentist on my normal timeline. Because of this, I was in the chair for longer and the dentist had to work harder than usual.
Imagine if I hadn’t been brushing or flossing and they had to undo 18 months of not taking care of my teeth? There’s no way they could have ever overcome that much neglect.
The lesson for me was this: if I maintain a baseline level of something, it makes it a lot easier for me when I need to do something later that is more intense than if I’m not maintaining in between.
The same is true with our fitness and nutrition. The vast majority of change is going to come from the boring, day to day activities that give us long term results as opposed to an intense Bootcamp challenge or crazy crash diet.
Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.
Trying to “get in shape for summer” right now would be like me flossing 16 times yesterday to get ready for my dentist appointment. You can rush the process and you can’t expect infrequent, intense sessions to be enough. We have to do the daily habits that, eventually, stack up to real results.
It’s boring, it’s not sexy, but it works. And just like you wouldn’t expect to go six months without brushing your teeth and have great teeth, don’t expect to workout or eat well for a couple weeks, then take a few weeks off because life is busy and expect to be in shape.
The summer is the perfect time to build those habits. Because, otherwise, you’ll wake up and it’ll be next spring again, it’ll be time for another cleaning and you’ll be screwed.
We have the power to make decisions now that are going to greatly set ourselves up for success later. Make healthy choices now that the future you will be proud of, and better off for.
It’s like investing: day-to-day it doesn’t feel like you’re making much progress, but it adds up with enough time and consistency.
If you want to hear more about the impact these small decisions have on our long-term health (particularly when we’re 55+), check out this podcast episode I recorded with coach Jackson Lohr.
