day 1167: Consistency

"He prayed three times a  day, just as he always had done..."

I was surprised to hear someone I know say (almost bragging) about being, "Consistently inconsistent".  As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her husband validated this with, "And, that is the hardest thing about you".  Wow, that was an honest exchange, and it was out in the open with other people around to hear the disclosures.  This interchange reminded me that if there is anything really hard to manage is consistent inconsistency, because even though you know to never expect the same more than once, knowing that there will always be an unknown to be expected can drive you crazy.  Okay, as we know, our businesses can't run this way, otherwise we would never have a repeat customer and soon we would be out of business.  But, let's think about the fact that inside of our companies there are many people and people like this person who likes to be consistently inconsistent.  Are we to think that these personal trait don't carry over into the work that is being done, work that we expect to be consistently performed?  This is why we must pay attention to the details and continue to simplify and ensure that consistency is designed into our work, so that we remove the risks of inconsistency.  Consistent inconsistency is an ingredient that will spoil any recipe for success.

The account of Daniel in the Bible is a tremendous lesson of consistency.  Daniel conquered many troubles and rose to the top of the organizational chart and through it all he carried consistencies in his life. One being that we learn most; that he prayed three times a day.  When decreed that he couldn't do so any longer, he couldn't stop and so he consistently carried on.  Consistency in our time with the Lord will carry us through the roughest patches and also be a shining example when others are watching how we deal with the troubles in the office and in life.  Trying to develop habits and consistency in the bad times is almost impossible, so now is the time to make consistency a hallmark of who we are so that others can expect that from us.  Our God is consistent, so should we be.

Reference: Daniel 6:10 (New Living Translation)