The Pitfalls of Consistency
“Consistency is the virtue of small minds.” — Alan Watts
When I first heard that quote in one of Watts’ talks, it gave me pause. I believe it was from a talk on Daoism, where he was describing the intricate balance that exists between any two poles. The general argument was that we live in a society that heralds consistency, yet the universe is essentially the antithesis of that. There is nothing constant about the domain of existence, but we delude ourselves into thinking that it’s attainable in the context of our own lives.
This does a good job highlighting my own tension with consistency, especially in the domain of one’s beliefs and habits. On one hand, consistency is a surrogate for stability, which signals trust. It’s the only way for us to predict what might happen tomorrow given someone’s past behaviors. And once a discernible pattern of behavior arises, we use that to determine whether or not a person is deemed reliable.
But on the other hand, consistency is an adherence to rigidity, and keeps people chained to an identity that they may no longer resonate with. We see this often in politics, for example, where a candidate’s track record is determined by how long they’ve held a certain view throughout their career. Even if their mind has changed about that view, they can’t communicate it openly because that would foreshadow the loss of their seat. It’s this kind of consistency that Watts is speaking of when he refers to the small minds who adopt it.
As a writer, there’s a common narrative that consistency is the virtue that should reign supreme over your work. Whether you publish daily, weekly, or monthly, there should be some predictable cadence you choose that signals a sense of reliability to your audience. That it’s through this chain of unbroken promises that trust is ultimately cultivated.
While I understand the rationale behind this, one thing I’ve realized is that as a reader, I don’t seem to pay much attention to a writer’s consistency. I don’t read someone’s work because they publish something every Friday. No, I read them because their work is great, regardless of the time of week in which it was published. I prefer depth of thought over adherence to cadence, and that holds true for any work of art.
But at the same time, consistency does have its virtues. Whenever I see an article from that creator in my inbox on Friday, it’s a way of them stating, “Hey, I showed up this week, just like I said I would.” Even if I don’t engage with that email at all, it’s a small indicator that they were present for the occasion. And oftentimes, that’s enough for me to believe that they’re serious about their craft.
In my case, I don’t have a set schedule for this blog, but I publish regularly enough so you can expect to hear from me when I have something to say. And by continuing to share my work with you in this way, I further develop that bond of trust. Simply put, I use consistency as a means to delve deeper, and the only way to cultivate depth is to first establish this familiarity with you.
This highlights an important thing: Consistency is beautiful when it’s used to build deeper connections, but becomes burdensome when you use it solely for personal gain. The reason why I don’t like the common advice of “publish every (insert cadence here)” is because it often comes from people that are giving advice on growing an audience. It uses consistency as a prop for your personal gain, which is to grow an audience to serve some personal goal – be it the desire for money or the pursuit of fame. And whenever it’s used in this way, you grow weary because self-interest is a tiresome endeavor. One can only serve their own goals for so long before it feels tedious and never-ending.
But if you’re showing up at a regular time because you truly care about the relationships you’re building, then consistency is indeed a virtue. That’s why we check in with our friends regularly, attend our children’s games, and show up to work on time. These all signal that we care about the people we’re interacting with, and that we aspire to build a reputation that exudes this commitment.
Consistency is a virtue of the compassionate mind, but a mere tool for the selfish one. Wisdom is in knowing when to embody consistency to cultivate depth, and when to accept serendipity to open up the mind. By regularly oscillating between the two, you realize that adherence to any one pole is a futile endeavor, and are made aware of the declaration that the Daoists made many millennia ago.
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