How Missing a Day Can End a Streak

Whether it’s early morning prayers, evening exercises, giving up soda, reading a book or typing 1,000 words every day, consistency would always be the key to building momentum. And momentum is very important because for most endeavors that shape our lives, success would only come from repetition. For repetition to work, consistency is the key.

So what happens when you miss one of those occurrences? Most personal development proponents would say that you have to show up whether you feel like it or not. I don’t like that advice, not because it isn’t true but because it’s true and I tend to remember it when I’m about to skip an occurrence.

For most of the things I’ve been consistent at, it takes a whole lot more than feelings to keep me from going on. And that’s what people need to talk about more. You ask people to show up when they don’t feel like it, but what if it’s only their feelings that’s motivating them to perform?

If it ain’t love, feelings won’t help you

You can’t show up if you don’t genuinely have an interest in what you’re doing. If you don’t love what you do, you’ll always skip the occurrences that would lead to success.

Feelings aren’t a good motivator and they will not help you maintain a winning streak because more often that not, we don’t feel like doing stuff. But if we love doing those things, then we would show up to the plate even if we have to crawl out of bed.

However, that’s not what this article is really about. The question floating in and out of focus is: What’s the big deal in missing it just once? What if I miss that day at the gym? What if I refuse to pick up my guitar today? Can’t I have one day of rest?

If all it takes is one miss

I’ve cancelled gym memberships more times than I can count because I missed one occurrence. Sometimes even as a Christian I find it difficult to pray in the morning the following day if I missed the previous day.

Missing one occurrence of anything can send a dangerous message to your subconscious mind – that you don’t need that activity and the goal is not so important. It could cause you to mistake the effect of one occurrence for the results of twenty.

For example, one day of workouts doesn’t really change anything. A few years ago I took to the gym to shed some weight and found myself checking the scale at the gym after each workout. It was a counterproductive activity because every time I checked, I felt like it wasn’t working. I didn’t understand the science behind it then, but I simplified my motivation to something like “enjoy being active.” I stopped checking the scale everyday and I kept going back to the gym because, now, the result of each occurrence was more joy rather than less weight.

It gives me a clearer perspective when setting goals now. I’m more realistic about results than I used to be. I understand that missing one day is forgivable and it doesn’t have to mean abandoning the project. I understand that I cannot expect in one occurrence what I should get after five occurrences.

If all it takes is one miss to turn your world upside down, then you’ll probably need to re-examine your motives and expectations. You shouldn’t give that much power to 1/30 if 20/30 is what you need to achieve success.

Find something that would keep you coming back

Making a comeback is far more inspiring than never failing. Many people prepare so that they won’t fail. I hear things like ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ but I also understand from reality that even with the best laid plans, something always happens to blow things in my face.

Now, when I plan for anything I always factor in the possibility of making a mistake or missing a day. I ask myself, “What’s so important about this project that will always keep me coming back, even if I fail?”

Maybe I’m not as wide a reader as I think I am, but these are the kind of questions I rarely see people ask. I see productivity hacks and how people can make sure they don’t fail or make mistakes and while all those are well intentioned, they don’t always reflect reality.

If there’s nothing to keep you coming back, could it be that the project is not as important to you as you make it out to be? My goal is to help you stay in the game for the long run knowing there are times you may need a break. The goal is to be able to take a break without giving up.

Your goals are important, let’s not undermine your pursuits. But missing a day should never be enough to disrupt the long game. Making a mistake should not distort your view of the year long goal.

One miss wouldn’t end a streak only if you let it

As important as it is to always show up, things happen that would throw a wrench in your plans. Life happens and most of these things you cannot control.

You can still keep on winning even after a miss. If you allow one miss to knock the wind out of you then you need to rethink your priorities. You need to ask yourself about what motivated you to start in the first place. Was it just a fleeting feeling or there was something more that will keep you grounded in the fight?

I don’t expect you to plan to fail, but I want you to consider that every goal has its challenges. As much as you want to win, there are forces that stand against you and that alone signals to you that what you’re doing is important. But sometimes those forces get the better of you.

It’s not okay to miss the mark, I wouldn’t suggest that you sabotage yourself. But when you’ve done honest work and you miss it don’t beat yourself up about it or give up on your project. Just remember why you set out to accomplish the goal in the first place. If you have a powerful “why”, one miss wouldn’t really matter in the scheme of things.