Day 732: The Year of Consistency

After seeing how helpful setting an intention/theme for the year was last year, I’ve decided to do it again. My intention for 2022: consistency.

Moving to my current apartment in LA in November was my first time signing a lease since living in Japan in 2017. The transition from being nomadic to living like a normal person has felt a bit rough at times and I’ve had moments of doubts about whether it’s the right fit for me, but I’m starting to feel settled and quite excited about committing to a single place instead of bouncing around all the time.

One aspect that I’m particularly excited about is being able to commit to a routine. One of the most fun parts about traveling on a regular basis is that things are constantly changing: the people, the culture, the language, your location, the nearby opportunities, etc. But as a person who thrives on routine, that’s also one of the most difficult parts. It’s simply hard to set up a consistent routine when you’re constantly dealing with the logistics of finding a place to sleep, transportation, where to get your food, etc.

This year, assuming I stay in LA, I won’t have that kind of overhead. That presents an opportunity to really invest in the community around me and the hobbies and activities that I’m interested in. I want to use this upcoming year to focus my efforts and get good at the things I care about.

At its core, improving at something only requires two things: consistency and patience. Whether it’s getting stronger, learning a new craft, or building a business, all you really need to do is show up again and again and again.

Over the years, there have been many skills that I’ve wanted to cultivated but haven’t made meaningful progress on due to the lack of consistency. For example, I’ve wanted to be able to do a handstand for over 8 years now (here’s a snippet from my goal setting document in 2013):

This year, I want to actually come up with a strategy for accomplishing these kinds of things rather than simply saying that I want to do it and then doing nothing about it.

2022 will be the year of showing up again and again and again.