Consistency = Freedom

As someone who's avoided routine, discipline, ritual, structure, etc. for most of my life, I'm fascinated by what a little consistency can do.  I've become a big fan of consistency, and it's something I work on with my clients. I wrote a piece last year called, "Scat Ya Bitch" about the power of small consistent action over time. One of the most interesting things I'm finding is that everyone I talk to struggles with consistency in some way. Even the people who I may look at as champions of discipline have some area they wish they were more consistent in. That helps me not be so judgy when it comes to my own struggles.

I've become a big fan of Dan Harris and Ten Percent Happier over the years. I've listened to the podcast quite a bit and recommend the meditation app to clients and friends. I caught a quick instagram reel from Dan this morning where he was talking about certainty anchors. We live in an uncertain world, and humans don't deal well with uncertainty. Uncertainty triggers all our old stuff, causes anxiety, and often leads to poor decision making. The idea of a certainty anchor is something in your day that you have or do consistently. Maybe you have the same thing to eat for breakfast or lunch everyday, or you wear basically the same thing everyday, or you exercise, or meditate at the same time everyday.

Having certainty anchors frees up space in your head. Gives you something to hang on to. To ground yourself in. I hadn't heard that term before, but it reminded me of a conversation I just had with a client about consistency and freedom.

I guess I always thought that consistency, or routine, was the lack of freedom. If I have to do the same thing at the same time everyday, it's like handcuffs. So, I avoided it. Over the last decade, as I've put more consistency into my life and my work, I find that the opposite is true. Consistency = Freedom.

How much brain space is consumed by things we have to do? A good example for me is this very newsletter. For a time, I was in the habit, the routine, of making time on Mondays to write something. Then I got inconsistent for awhile, and my brain got absolutely silly with worry, planning, and judgements about making time to write. So much so, that it actually got in the way of me sitting down to do it! However, when I have a commitment to being consistent, all that noise in my head goes quiet. When it starts up, all I have to do is remind myself that I have time set aside for that. Immediately the feeling goes from uncomfortable and stressed to easy. 

I have by no means mastered being consistent. In fact, I still take "days off" from all my routines. Maybe on a weekend day I skip meditation, or I don't drink my green juice, or whatever. For me, that gives me the illusion of control, but it only works if I get right back to my routines on Monday. I didn't realize it, but my most consistent actions are also certainty anchors. They tether me to the present moment. I can count on them. (mostly) They allow my brain to think about other things. They make space. It feels like freedom to me.