Life at the Speed of Average

In our previous Wisdom Note, we learned that gratitude is thanks on steroids. This week we will slow down a bit and look at life at the speed of average. If you miss any of our Wisdom Notes, please go to the blog to read past newsletters.

Many people have asked, how do you keep up with a daily podcast along with your other responsibilities? I have to admit, it was not always easy, but I view it as my daily ministry to others. In addition, I too learn much from the short segments that I produce. It takes being consistently persistent in the small things of life to achieve what appears to be great results. You can move a mountain one stone at a time, as long as you are consistently persistent for a long period of time.

I certainly have no extraordinary abilities or talents. I am a fairly average person but have a desire and drive to move one stone at a time from the mountains that stand in front of me. You too can be average and still be a mountain mover. This week, let’s look at what can be accomplished even if you feel that you are considered average.

As I wrap up this fifth year of Wisdom-Trek, I look back and realize although I was an average student that grew up poor on an apple orchard, through being consistently persistent, I will have written over 10 million words within the daily podcast scripts that I refer to as journals. It blows my mind to have written and spoken so many words within my podcast, but I wrote and spoke them one word at a time. You can move a mountain, one stone at a time.

Due to the nature of our consulting work and other projects, I did not have the ability to hide away in a remote location and write, record, edit, and publish the daily podcast and journals in batches, but like our trek of life, I took it one day at a time. It reminds me of a little booklet that I read many years ago called “Little Is Much When God Is In It.” The premise of the book is to be faithful in the small everyday tasks, and you will be able to accomplish much. It’s okay to be average as long as you are faithful and consistently persistent in the small tasks of life.

This concept holds true for all areas of your life. For example, anyone can feel a burst of inspiration, head to the gym, and push themselves really hard for a single workout. That’s maximum speed but will produce little results long-term. Instead, what if you had a slower-paced workout, but averaged 4 days per week in the last month? How about the last three months? Or the last year? What has your average speed been? Your long-term results will be much greater if you are consistent over an extended period of time, even if each day did not include an intense workout.

This principle holds true for your work habits, your eating habits, your relationship habits, and virtually every other area of your life. Here’s the surprising thing about average speed…It doesn’t take very long for average speed to produce incredible results.

So often we waste our time and energy thinking that we need a monumental effort to achieve anything significant. We tell ourselves that we need to get amped up on motivation and desire. We think that we need to work harder than everyone else. While I am all for continual improvement, it does not take herculean efforts to see huge results over a long period of time.

The natural question that follows from all of this is “How do I increase my average speed?” I recently read an article by blogger James Clear in which he wrote “Habit Graduation: How to Increase Your Average Speed.” In other words, graduating from your current habit level to one level higher. Basically, habit graduation is about increasing your average speed.

Here are some examples…

• If your average speed is eating three healthy meals per week, can you “graduate” that to one healthy meal per day?
• If your average speed is exercising once per week, can you “graduate” that to twice per week?
• If your average speed is to only read spiritual or inspirational materials once per week, can you “graduate” to three times per week?

We all have an average speed when it comes to our habits. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, that average speed might be much slower than we’d like.

The truth is, anyone can get motivated and push themselves for one day, but very few people maintain a consistent effort every week without fail.

In your health, your work, and your life, it doesn’t require a massive effort to achieve incredible results — just being consistently persistent over a period of time.

This reminds me of the parable from Matthew 25:20-21, “The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”

Today we came to an understanding that we can make much more long-term progress in life when we slow down to life at the speed of average. Next week we will begin exploring the cycles and seasons of life. Encourage your friends and family to join us on our 5-days a week podcast: Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.