Each year, in place of a numbered list of resolutions hastily scrawled out on a sheet of lined paper, I choose to select a word to make my focus for the following twelve months. 2021 was the year of glow. 2022 was the year of Less. 2023 was about consistency.

I outlined yesterday how, despite the best of intentions, 2023 was wrought with change. Inconsistencies that were out of my control were being thrown at me from left and right, yet I was able to keep certain things rigidly consistent with the year’s intention in mind.

Consistency is Grounding

My morning routine and occassional bath ritual were both series of tasks, rich with sameness, that I could rely on as the world around me seemed chaotic and unpredictable. I could move simply through the sequence of my morning asana according to the sequence of the playlist and I knew what to think of for those moments. It wasn’t about the current trial vexing me that I had to attend to that day, it was about holding my body in a yoga pose and considering what that pose meant.

Consistency through routines gives you agency–control–in times where much seems out of your control. That semblance of control has a calming affect on the mind, body, and spirit.

Consistency is Gradual

I’ve been organizing the basement over the last few days, starting with holiday items. Among them are the carcasses of abandoned projects from years past—grand-scale ideas I hoped would come into fruition in the couple of weeks between when I cooked up the idea of the project and when the holiday it would be honoring would come to pass–while I had an infant/toddler/preschooler. This seems so silly to me now.

Consistency taught me to pace myself, and that includes knowing what I can accomplish at a slower pace. I don’t have to commit to every great idea I have, because there’s always another tomorrow. I know if I’m already chipping away at one project, I can’t begin to chase another.

Consistency is Growth

Day in, day out, when you’re repeating the same task, you’re bound to get better. This isn’t something I’m making up–it’s neuroscience. Everything you do, think and feel causes neurons to create electrical impulses in your brain and make connections. Each time you repeat a connection, it thickens the myelin, a membraneous sheath around the axons that connect neurons. The myelin acts like insulation and the thicker the insulation, the faster and more efficient the brain circuitry for that specific task will be.

Brain science aside, when you’re doing something over and over again, it feels easy enough to add something else on without sweating it. Because a repeated behavior becomes a baseline behavior–it doesn’t feel like it adds to daily responsibilities. It’s just something you do–you don’t need a to do list for brushing your teeth, right?

Consistency is Grace

Knowing that I’d repeat the same tasks the following day or next pain flare up, or whichever consistent schedule I had determined, allowed for me to have a lighter approach to how that day’s attempt went.

Before consistency, I was hung up on details. I’d beat myself up over imperfections and mistakes. With consistency, I knew I’d be back at it again soon, with a lesson learned, and I knew I could try it again and do better.

That level of grace really benefitted me this holiday season, when a family emergency and aftercare needed threw off my holiday tasks and intentions. After a year of reminding myself there was “always tomorrow” I was kind to myself over what there needed to be Less of, and what I’d have the chance to do better next year.

Consistency is Gratifying

Consistency kept my values in focus and placed hard boundaries where otherwise I may have compromised. My mornings were committed to self care, and I wouldn’t let external factors detract from that. My habits with my phone are different from societal norms, but I am proud of them. I’ve remained consistent with not responding to digital communication quickly and have made it clear that if something is important it merits a call.

It’s easy to sleep at night when you’re staying true to who you are and living a values-based life.

Consistency is Great

It made my baseline something to be proud of. Even on my worst days with chronic pain and low energy, I had a work out, stretch, meditation, an intention set, pages read in books, and a fun, expressive outfit. If I felt physically awful, it didn’t mean I had to look awful or feel about my appearance.

It’s calming. When the world is consistently pulling you in a million different directions, consistent rituals give you the calm of knowing you’re doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing in that moment.

That’s damn great, if you ask me.

How was I consistent in 2023?

• working out
• waking up early
• daily morning asana ritual
• having fun getting dressed
• keeping my room and closet tidy
• bath ritual as needed
• meditation
• blogging more regularly
• creating art regularly
• slow to answer texts and digital communication
• reaching out for in person communication with friends
• having firm boundaries around my phone use
• prioritizing my health and my family
• keeping Less in mind and avoiding too many commitments
• reading 52 books a year
• values-based living

Things I’d like to do more consistently in 2024

• walk the dog
• hike
• write letters
• timed sketching to increase efficiency
• organizing
• cooking
• making dr appointments
• managing the home