It’s the end of the year and the beginning of the next, a time of goals and reflection. I recently had an epiphany of sorts that I wanted to share that can be summarized by something my husband frequently says to me.

Altered from Bruce Lee’s original quote, my husband often repeats the following: “I fear not the man who practices 1000 kicks in a day, rather the man who practices 1 kick for 1000 days.” Small but steady efforts beat sporadic bursts of high volume.

My husband did a student exchange in Ecuador when we were in high school and within that year abroad, he learned to speak Spanish. Witnessing people light up when they realize they can speak in their mother tongue with my husband is inspiring. Communication is a powerful tool. I fell in love with the language and wanted to learn it for myself. So, I decided to take a Spanish course when I was in university. My professor was from Cuba; I learned a lot from him and excelled in this course.

When the course ended, I decided to try the app Duolingo and would use it on and off, but just over two years ago I fully committed to one Duolingo lesson a day and now my streak is 743 days in a row! It takes about 3 minutes of my time each day and I’ve learned enough that I can have simple conversations in Spanish. Having my husband to speak to is definitely accelerating my learning but it all stemmed from a 3-minute lesson every single day. If you would have asked me two years ago if I would be able to follow a conversation, create full sentences and even make a joke in Spanish, I would have said there was no way.

I have many ambitions and goals that seem so far out of reach but just a small amount of time every day adds up. You’ve probably heard that before. No matter how many times I had heard that, it was hard to fully grasp. That is until recently, when I realized that I have lived it. The photo accompanying this post is from my travels to Spain with friends in 2018. I knew a few words and numbers in Spanish. Going now, I would be more confident in my ability to communicate, simply because of a three-minute daily investment.

I don’t want to be the type of person that does a lot of great things occasionally. I aspire to be someone that is reliable and consistent. This doesn’t just take the form of goals like learning a language, getting stronger, meditating, etc. It is also, and more importantly, the character you uphold in yourself.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Jesus is a powerful leader and example for many reasons and none of them are an outward display of earthly power. Jesus lived a good life, consistently. You don’t need to guess with Him. Leaders and politicians of this world could be described as “wishy-washy”, they say one thing and do another, they change their mind, and they preach morals that their own actions go against. Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty of these human ways as well. Jesus, however, is not; His words were never empty, and His actions spoke for themselves. He shows us diligence and consistency. This creates a trust between God and me. God is a firm shoulder to lean on, a guaranteed wise word and a compass that always points in the right direction.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8