The "Go Again" Entry

I lost my streak😔😔

For the first Sunday in a year and 4 months, I did not have entry last Sunday.

I had it written out, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I could not post and I expected to feel really bad about this.

But I did not.

Don't get me wrong, I felt weird that I could not get the entry up and I do apologize that you did not have an entry to read last Sunday.

But, I believe I needed that break to realize how much I have grown.

Sometime in 2020, I had a writing page on Instagram that I wrote for everyday.

I missed one day and felt so bad that I stopped writing altogether.

At first, I just suspended the page with the mindset to go back , but then I never did.

I stopped writing altogether because I didn't write once, believe it or not.

In 2022, when I started writing on Linkedin, I started with the mindset to grow myself to the point where I would not care who reads, supports or does not support. I decided that I was going to write no matter what, believing that the more I wrote, the better I would get.

My aim was to rise above the need for perfection and gain consistency.

In 2023, as well as doing Linkedin, I started keeping streaks on a number of apps including a book app, Duolingo and my Bible app.

These streaks helped tremendously because they made me intentionally have to go back to the apps everyday. Despite the streaks, I made a rule for myself; if I ever missed a day, I would start again the next day no matter how many days of consistency I lost.

Months after I began, I lost my 130 day reading streak in my books app.

I remember feeling angry with myself. The numbers that had encouraged me to keep going had vanished. I opened the app to "0 days of consistency" and I almost decided to never use the app again.

But I remembered my promise to myself, and also remembering that I got to day 130 because I had a day one, I started again.

I would love to say that that day is the only one I have ever missed but that would be very untrue. I have missed a few since then, but I have also begun to score myself, not just by how many days I do not miss, but by how I pick myself up and start again after a missed day. It has helped a lot.

I have been able to learn that consistency is important, but so is standing up after you fall.

I believe writing here has taught me not just that, but also that you can get back to it after one or even a thousand mistakes.

I am also reminded of surfers. They wait for a wave while sitting on their board, calculate when to stand, then stand up to ride the wave.

They ride it for as long as they can and then they crash.

Does that stop them from scouting another wave?

Nope.

As soon as they see the prospects of a new wave, they stand up again.

As many times as they find a new wave and choose to ride it, they get to surf.

But imagine they just gave up after one crash, and they see another wave and do not rise to take it. The wave will submerge them.

I got my newsletter out eventually, no matter how late it was. I still made sure to get the work done. I am back on another Sunday making sure to get back to my routine despite the one setback.

It is not easy to stand up after you fall, especially if you place your worth in your consistency. It might feel like because you have crashed once and lost the consistency, then you are not worth so much. That is so untrue.

Making one mistake or missing one day is fine. It does not matter in the grand scheme of things.

What matters is that you pick yourself up and keep going.

So this week, if there is anything you stopped doing, you can start again.

I'm rooting for you

See you next Sunday,

Your Trusty Growth Partner,

Dee❤