Persistence, Consistency, and Gratitude
Dear Collective,
I was working away this week and realized a project I cared about had gone totally sideways. It was one of those moments where I replayed everything in my head and saw exactly where it fell apart.
The tight feeling in my chest started building up, and that old voice in my head took over. It started saying, "You’re not good at this. No one cares. No one is going to show up." My brain was already writing the story that quitting would be easier than continuing.
Then I remembered a quote that helped pull me out of the spiral: “If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it. If you are grateful, you will get even more of it.”
I had to remind myself about the "rule of thirds." It says that a third of the time, your training or your work is going to feel wonderful. A third of the time, it’s going to feel like total garbage. And a third of the time, it’s just going to feel... meh. If you’re hitting those percentages, you’re actually exactly where you’re supposed to be.
That’s where I was this week. The days just hit different. I was frustrated with myself, disappointed in how things were going, and honestly, I was actively depressed for a few days. My brain was doing what brains do: trying to convince me that the "garbage third" meant something was permanently wrong.
The old version of me would’ve spiraled. I would have let one bad day become a bad week, and I would have turned back into the version of myself I worked so hard to leave behind. But this week, I didn't. Not because I felt "excellent," but because I’ve learned that bad days happen with or without a reason. I realized that if I stayed persistent and showed up for myself anyway, I’d make it through just fine.
That’s where consistency comes in. Consistency is sneaky. It doesn't announce itself with a trumpet. You don’t feel the difference one day at a time. But you string a few days together, and suddenly your goals stop feeling like far-off dreams and start feeling like destiny. When you stop looking for the shortcut and settle in for the journey, everything shifts. Consistency turns that garbage third into a teacher. Every time you show up when it’s tough or boring, you’re training yourself to stay. That is the real work.
Lastly, there is gratitude. I noticed a shift this week when I started acknowledging the small wins. I showed up despite being tired. I did the hard work without backing out. Gratitude isn’t just about being "nice." It’s about recognizing your own strength so clearly that you can’t hide from it anymore. And when you stop hiding, other people see that strength too. You start helping the whole community see the greatness in themselves.
This week, stay persistent. Stay consistent. Keep your gratitude.
If you’re sitting in the "garbage third" right now, wondering if you should keep going, don't let a bad moment convince you that you’re in the wrong third of your life. You aren't. You’re in the perfect one. You’re in the one that builds you up.
With Strength and Wisdom,
Charlie We, The Collective Fitness