Just do it… for you

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“Didn’t you say you’d skip the next edition?” Nkechi asked. With my bloodshot eyes and grumbling stomach, I was racing to edit and publish an edition of the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ newsletter on LinkedIn before the end of the month. “I have a few minutes to spare,” I answered. “I might as well just publish something.”

It’s been almost a year since I started #ThinkingOutLoud on LinkedIn. This is article is from the twelfth edition. Besides my sister and my husband whose opinions l always seek before publishing an edition, I’d be mind-blown if anyone else has read all twelve. The thing is, online folks don’t care about your consistency as much as you think. Yes, people might love everything you put out or find it helpful, but if you promise to publish a new article every week, and for some reason, you skip one, barely anyone would notice. No one is waiting on their device for a notification about your newsletter or video or post except if they paid to get it.

So why does consistency matter? Because it matters to you. I didn’t publish a piece every month — even when it was so darn hard to make the time — for fear that people would be disappointed if I didn’t. Well, a big part of me initially assumed so but I’ve come to understand that that’s not true. While I hope that these articles inspire at least one person, I tried to maintain the rhythm mainly because that was the only way to avoid quitting altogether.

When you commit to showing up consistently, as much as people may benefit from it, you also have a lot to gain. You build the habit, you learn, you improve, you grow. And if at some point, you realise that it’s no longer worth it, and you decide to take a break or call it quit, you can do so confidently because whether you keep up or give up, you’re doing it not just for the audience but also for you.

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