Change Is Best Measured by Consistency

The best change doesn’t always happen right away.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

We are beginning track season and I can see our athletes revving up their gears for another long season of intense competition. I have the privilege of coaching some of the most fierce competitors on our school’s campus.

But accompanying their appetite to be great is their incessant desire to be great right now. I’ve already begun talking some off the ledge of frustration as they ask me why they aren’t running their fastest right now, or seemingly unable to fix some of the technical aspects of their starts or running form. Keep in mind we haven’t even run an official meet yet!

As a coach, I love it! But I also have to teach them to temper their expectations. In our program we teach athletes the importance of being present in the moment of every rep, every practice, and opportunity to compete. But we also have to coach them to not be so present they’re fixated on where they are and not appreciating that what they’re doing to get them where they want to be.

And what we coach our athletes is a lesson for us all. I realized what I was telling our athletes applied to me, too. Coaches can get antsy and want their teams to be the best right now. We want that high-profile job now. But part of preparing for those things is the measured, lesson-by-lesson, day-by-day consistency to prepare us when it’s our time.

And this can be applied to so many different aspects of all our lives, whether it’s dieting, working out, getting an education, saving money—you name it. Most of the time anything gained quickly loses or doesn’t have the same value as something steadily gained and worked for.

So what’re you wishing would change now? Is your desired measured in patience and consistency, or hurried agitation?