Consistency and Commitment

The wind was blowing pretty consistently the other day.  There was not a moment during the daylight hours that the the branches on the trees were not moving as the breeze out of the southwest ebbed and flowed.

Yes, you heard that right.  The consistently windy day had inconsistency in its windiness.  There were moments when the anemometer read gusts that were well over the 30 mile per hour mark.  Then, there were others where it subsided to the low teens.  But, I can say that the wind was committed to making itself known all day long.

The Genuine Faux Farm blog has twenty-three posts in the month of May this year.  Of the four days that were missed, three of them were this past Monday through Wednesday.  What happened to the consistency?  Where was the commitment?

More consistent than you give credit for

What prompted me to ask those questions?  I am glad you asked!

I was musing about how many of us have difficulty with telling ourselves the truth about our own consistency, or dedication, or participation level in so many of the things we do.  For example, my own personal reaction to the fact that I opted not to write and post blogs for the first three days of the week  was actually to feel a bit guilty - feeling an inordinate amount of failure for a lack of consistency and commitment.

However, when I look at the big picture, this is the truth: 

     The Genuine Faux Farm blog has been active since December of 2008.  Since that time, not a single month has gone without at least a couple of posts.  And, since April, 2020 only one month has seen less than 20 entries (this April had 17).

The wind has continued to blow, but sometimes the breeze isn't so strong that it will bowl you over.  There is at least some longevity, even if the level of commitment is not consistent from day to day or year to year.  But, given the whole body of work, I would say there is a fairly strong commitment to this project that has led to some consistent production.

A three day stretch should not be allowed to change the truth of that.

What others see in you.

Then, there are the times that we give ourselves credit beyond that which we deserve.

I had someone contact me about some of our farm produce.  This is a person I had not heard from in some time, but they professed missing consistently getting produce from us at farmers' markets.  And, they were hopeful that we might have something along those lines they could acquire.

This is great - even if we didn't have what they were looking for this year.  But, the way they presented the request made it sound like they were at our table every time we set up for market.  In an odd way, they almost made it sound like it was an offense on our part that we were no longer setting up a table at farmers' markets.  And, yes, I realize they did not intend that, exactly.  But, they did have the tone of disappointment that we were not there for them.

I get that.  I feel disappointment when things I had once enjoyed are no longer available to me.  There are a couple of local restaurants and services that are no longer available to us - and that is disappointing.  But, we are very careful about expressing that disappointment in a way that supports and respects their decisions to move on.  Perhaps that is because we know what if feels like when someone puts that little edge of implied guilt to the disappointment.

The irony is that we see this most often with those who have inflated their own perception of how consistently they patronized us in the past.  This particular individual probably visited us an average of three to four times a season.  But, to hear it from them now, it sounds like they were at our table for every market.

Less committed than you believe?

Now, let's get this perfectly clear.

Daffodils bloom once per year - and that period seems so terribly short to me.  Yet, they do it every year.  That's consistent - and they don't bother trying to say that they bloom every week.  It also means that their appearance is no less wonderful, nor is does it go unappreciated.

A person who visited our farmers' market table once a month for four months was also consistent - and appreciated for the support they brought to the farm business.  And, I would be perfectly fine if they proudly told me and others that they purchased product a few times every year from our farm.  But, to make it sound like they acquired all of their produce from us until - inexplicably - we stopped producing the food they relied on?  There is some story-telling going on here, I think. 

I also tried to tell myself that I was doing pretty well with my cardio exercise program this year.  And, yes, when I take a look at the calendar where I record such things, I've had a few good stretches - and each lasted two weeks at a time. 

Good for me!  I showed some ability to succeed in this particular activity.  But, let's not overdo my own praise for my success.  The other lie I was telling myself is that I haven't gone more than a few weeks without making a specific effort to exercise.  Sorry, it's been longer than that, Rob.  I lack sufficient commitment for this activity to really reap the benefits - and that is the truth of the matter.  So, now I have a decision to make.  Will I make the necessary commitment and consistently follow through?  Or will I decide this on-again/off-again approach is just all I have capacity for right now?

Either way, I'll work on telling myself the truth about my own commitment and consistency.  Giving credit where it is due and finding the energy to improve where it isn't.