اَحَبُّ الْاَعْمَالِ اِلَى اللّٰهِ اَدْوَمُهَا وَاِنْ قَلَّ
The deed dearest to Allah Ta'ala is that which is most consistent, even if small.
The favorite book on the sayings (hadith) of the Prophet Mohammed Rasulullah SAW starts, quite poetically, with this quote. Almost inviting the reader as they open the book to think on the learnings they are gaining and the fact that they need to keep opening the book, day in and day out, to feel it seep into their soul.
Over time, I've realized that this is by far the most important tenet I need to live by. It absolutely does not matter how small the action I take is, the optimization is, the habit I'm trying to create. Even if I wake up and 5 five squats out of the bed – but everyday – that is way more meaningful then a 2 week sprint of heavy lifting.
The consistency proves to your mind and body that you have discipline and gives you a reason to get out of bed, knowing you've seen yourself progress. Knowing that you do have it in you to commit to the things you do.
It's a steady ladder from there. Once you know you can commit to something, then you can build bigger and bigger goals, and soon enough you can build the rigorous lifestyle you want. Thinking you're disciplined enough to not need the slow build is a young mans folly.
As I sit back and think on the YEARS I've wasted on "the new routine that will stick" and "the habit that's going to make it" - friends of mine starting with 5 push-ups are now 10 times farther along then I am.
When I was memorizing the Holy Quran, a young friend of mine started at the same time as me. Everyday, I would push myself to do one entire page of this new, foreign language. I'd struggle and fail, and in trying to bite off more than I can chew, I'd shoot myself in the foot for the following day having tried to memorize more than my capacity and suddenly on a Friday trying to store and remember 5 pages of new content in long-term memory. Cascading time delegation issues would lead to me forgetting earlier, previously solidified pages and suddenly that one big step forward would leave my 10 steps behind.
This friend I had, started with just one, simple line a day. Nothing more, nothing less. I used to look at him and see a inexperienced kid, naive, not going to make it too far. That kid, inch by inch, and eventually page-by-page, finished the entire Quran in 2.5 years, while it took me 4.5 years. Today, he's one of the well-studied kids I know - not because he's naturally gifted, but because he was willing to understand who he was and the value of simple consistency.
It's been 10 years, and I'm still trying to learn the same lesson.