“Wassup guys?! My name is Jeff.”
Jeff is ripped. His biceps are larger than my legs. He’s got no shirt on. The guy is rocking eight-pack abs.
That’s right, stinkin’ eight.
If I had Jeff’s body, I’d never wear a shirt.
“What’s up, Jeff?!” I think in my head, “What are you going to tell me that’s going to make my abs look like yours?”
“I’m going to show you something to do every single morning.”
The YouTube video continued. I listened intently. Jeff is about to recommend a new daily routine. I love routines. Just tell me what to do Jeff.
“I promise, if you do this, it’s going to help you a lot. You’re going to improve your posture, you're going to improve your abs, and you’re going to improve your grip strength.”
Nobody cares about grip strength Jeff.
He then turns around proceeds to hang from a pull-up bar in his closet for two minutes.
Here’s the deal, Jeff keeps saying these words, “This daily exercise is going to have an accumulative effect.”
“Accumulative effect.” There, he said it again.
An accumulative effect is the state in which a series of repeated actions have an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects (according to a Google definition).
In my own words, it’s compounded momentum that’s made possible only through consistency.
The Lord has been speaking to be about consistency and the importance of doing things daily, and as I’ve been practicing new daily routines, I am seeing results or compounded momentum.
I recently heard Drew Houston (founder of Dropbox) say, “If your workout time is not on your calendar, you’re not working out.” I smiled because mine is, and there are about four people who get to see how much I’m squatting on Monday mornings. Those four people get this email. That cracks me up.
I had a workout routine that was supposed to be able to generate results with just two trips to the gym each week. I was faithful to the method for about six months, and I didn’t see much change. I switched up my routine to a daily routine (four days a week) and immediately I could feel the difference.
Where do you need to grow?
What do you need to change?
Where does your life need a pattern interrupt?
Where do you need some accumulative effects?
If you take the time to answer these questions, you will see that the answer may be found in new daily routines, otherwise known as habits.
My recommendation is that you don’t invent a routine. Find one. Find one that REALLY works. Don’t be content until you are seeing measurable results in your own life.
I would recommend that you don’t just listen to your opinionated friends. Seek wisdom from a professional like Jeff. If they don’t have the eight-pack, don’t bother writing down their abs routine (this is just a metaphor, apply to your own context).
Maybe you’re not excited about the things of God anymore. Who do you know that is? What do they do? What do they read? Who influences them the most? Find out, and set up your daily routine.
Maybe you’re depressed. Get on Google, get on YouTube, and get to your doctor. Get obsessed with your holistic joy strategy and setup your new daily routines.
You are at where you are at because of your consistency, or lack thereof.
I have to remind myself that the system isn’t rigged. There’s no supplement for consistency. I don’t get to blame people for where I am at. I have to take responsibility and redeem each and every minute that the Lord has given to me.
If the words “consistency,” “daily routine,” and “accumulative effect” is not a part of your vocabulary, and you are unsatisfied with your current geography, allow your frustration to drive you to the store so you can buy a day planner.
Don’t expect your parents, your employer, your pastor, or your spouse to be your manager. Manage yourself. Manage your time. Manage your soul. Self-management is not a threat to the Lordship of Christ, in fact, self-control is actually a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Hang like a monkey from a pull-up bar. Make yourself a grass smoothie. Soak in the presence of God for twelve minutes before brushing your teeth. Swish coconut oil around in your mouth (without swallowing) for fifteen minutes. Practice the piano for thirty minutes. Write five hundred words. I don’t care, just do it, and do it daily, and you will see accumulative effects.
Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear what you’re up to. Email me at darren@seattlerevivalcenter.com.
Keep up the good work guys!
Much love,
Darren