There’s a time and place for both massive and consistent action.
In my old ministry days, we called this ‘crisis’ and ‘process’. Someone would come to faith due to some personal crisis or a personal realization of truth that often lead to some sort of emotional commitment.
That was the crisis.
Then that faith has to be walked out. Daily. Over time via prayer, learning to love your neighbor as yourself, slowly replacing old bad harmful habits with new good ones.
That’s the process.
In the personal growth world, you might here some gurus talk about taking massive action. You take a weekend and immerse yourself in some new practice. You’re in sales, but you suck at cold calling so you make 200 dials a day for a few weeks to break your slump.
It’s not always realistic – or the best approach.
Many an exercise plan has run aground because it was undertaken with ‘massive action’ – massive, unsustainable action.
On other other hand, what if you decided to simply take a 15 minute walk a day, assuming you’ve not been exercising at all for the past 17 years?
Or even 10 minutes. A consistent 10 minutes. Daily walking, rain or shine, for 10 minutes.
No doubt that 10 minutes will turn into 12 minutes. Then 15. Then maybe into a Couch to 5K plan.
6 months in, you’re rocking new, well-earned running shoes, signing up for Strava, and joining the local joggers over 50 club.
9 months later, you’ve dropped 40 lbs – slowly, almost imperceptively. You’d be happy with that improvement, right?
Unfortunately, most of us start the plan. Fuss that we didn’t lose 5 pounds the first week and give up. The massive action didn’t do the trick.
I didn’t intend this to solely be about exercise.
It works in every arena. Occasionally the huge massive act is just what the doctor ordered.
But over time, it’s the daily, consistent actions that take place.
Ask any wife. Does she want the huge gift twice a year or the consistent, listening ear and full presence of her husband every day?
We all know the answer to that question.
Swing for the fences on occasion.
But do the daily little things. They’ll build your life.
