When All Else Fails, Try Famine

Confession: I suck at consistency.

It’s true.

As much as I drone on about daily execution, incremental progress, and results borne of commitment, executed one faithful day at a time…

There is always a twinge of hypocrisy that goes off in my brain when I write that shit.

Because any measure of consistency I’ve been able to achieve in my life is a pronounced departure from my nature:

The nature of the gnat, the sloth, the meteor that burns in glory for a moment… then goes dark.

As my wife says of me, I’m all or nothing, baby.

Off or on.

Hot or cold.

Feast or famine.

“Steady Eddy?” Who the fuck is that?

I used to beat myself up about all this.

Because I KNEW from experience that consistency is THE biggest predictor of future success.

So when I failed… when despite all my resolutions I crashed and burned… I gave myself absolute shit over it.

But then one day it hit me:

Some people are farmers: they work the fields like clockwork.

But me… I’m a hunter.

I’m the one laying in the shade, eating nuts and berries, squaw rubbing my feet… until the mastodon herd is near, when I leap to my feet and call for my spear.

Now, if I’m working a goal and it just isn’t happening, instead of banging my face against the desk, I take a step back and go work on something else.

I pick the mastodon meat out of my teeth with my arrow…

I lull that tricky bastard into thinking I’ve forgotten all about it… that I’ve left the forest for good… until days later, BAM!

Out of nowhere I come flying, knock that son of a bitch to the ground, cut out its heart and eat it raw.

(On a good day, anyway)

Because as much as consistency IS the gold standard, the truth is, we will not always meet that standard.

Maybe you don’t share my affliction.

Maybe you’re steady as the rising sun.

But if you, too, struggle with consistency, and are shredding yourself over it… just stop.

If farmer way ain’t working…

…try some all or nothing.

Try a little hot and cold.

Try a bit of feast or famine.

Take a break on that thing that’s making you crazy, and come hit it later when you have the juice.

One way or the other… by hook or by crook… you need to get your empire BUILT.

So if not the first way… you try the other.

If the plow ain’t workin’…

…pick up the spear.