How far will you get without endurance?

Discipline and consistency are not the same thing. Related, but not the same.

A single act of strong discipline creates value. Consistently strong discipline creates compounding value. One act of discipline can produce certain rewards but not life’s most desirable rewards. Consistent discipline is the only ticket into that arena of results.

Consistency requires endurance.

Like strength and skill, endurance is a quality to build into your discipline. The strength of your discipline is the power to make yourself do something. The endurance of your discipline is the consistency to make yourself do it for a long time. A single act requires strength. Repeating an act requires endurance. Both are necessary.

If you need to cover 10 miles on foot, you could choose different strategies:

1. Jog 10 miles at the same pace.
2. Run one mile hard, walk one mile, run one mile hard, etc.
3. Sprint a few hundred yards, walk a few hundred yards, sprint a few hundred yards, etc.

Each is a different strategy for endurance, requiring a different type of strength. The longer the journey, the more this combination of strength and endurance matters.

Enduring discipline doesn’t mean perfect, unbroken discipline. It doesn’t mean doing the same thing every time. It means that no matter what happens, your discipline endures. It may not show up or produce the desired result every time, but it does most of the time, for a long time.

Consistency through endurance requires the support of resilience. I’ll explain that quality of discipline later this week.

Brick by brick. Do the work.