This past week has been odd—full of ups and downs, moments of great pride in what I was doing, and moments where I knew I could do better.
In the past, I would have felt lost, frustrated with myself for not being at my best. I would have questioned whether I was good enough, whether I was doing something wrong. Maybe I would have let that doubt spiral into thinking that everything I had built up until now had been a waste.
I know better now.
I’ve always believed that consistency is the key to achieving any meaningful result. I don’t buy into luck or overnight success—I believe you create your own luck by showing up every day, doing your best in every small task, and loosely following a plan that prioritizes what truly matters.
That belief hasn’t changed. What has changed is my definition of consistency.
I no longer think consistency means operating at 110% every single day. That would be great, sure, but it’s also unrealistic. Life happens. Work, family, responsibilities—there will always be external factors that make peak performance impossible some days. Believing that you need to be at full throttle all the time is not just unrealistic, it’s dangerous.
Thinking that it’s either 110% or nothing is a mental trap. If you believe that missing one perfect day means you’ve failed, you’ll start to think everything is wasted. I used to fall into this mindset, but over time, I learned a much healthier truth:
Consistency is just showing up.
Every day, I start with the intention of performing at my best. But if the day doesn’t go as planned? If I fall short? That’s okay. I no longer see it as a disaster that undoes all my progress. I forgive myself and find a way to make even a small contribution—closing out minor tasks, stepping away to reset, or just taking care of myself.
The key is honesty. No excuses, no false justifications—just showing up again the next day.
If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll cut out the excuses that hold you back. And when bad days happen, instead of letting them define you, you evaluate, adjust, and move forward.
Progress Over Perfection
Consistency isn’t about grinding at full speed every single day. It’s about doing what you can, with what you have, every day. The results will compound over time. Small steps—no matter how insignificant they seem—still move you forward.
With coding, I have days where I feel unstoppable—everything clicks, my thoughts are sharp, my work flows effortlessly. Other days, I struggle. I get stuck because I’m tired, outside my comfort zone, or missed a critical detail. But that doesn’t mean I’m a bad developer. It just means I need to be kinder to myself, take a break, reassess, and move forward—even if it’s just baby steps.
Shifting my mindset in this way made me realize how much of our struggles exist purely in our heads. It’s not failure—it’s just a lack of self-compassion. We’re still human, for now at least. Expecting robotic consistency is setting ourselves up for disappointment.
So, I dropped the excuses. I started being kinder to myself. I still aim for perfection, but I’ve made peace with progress.
As long as you’re true to yourself, that’s more than enough. The results will come.