How much variety do you need in life?

It’s been said that variety is the spice of life.

Let’s unpack that statement together. If variety is akin to spices, then let’s examine how spices are used. While almost all chefs recommend using spices, they use spices sparingly because they want them to enhance the flavor of the food and not cover or overwhelm the taste of whatever they’re cooking.

It would be best if you used variety in life, similarly to the chef’s recommendations. To enhance life, not overwhelm it. Unfortunately, in today’s day and age, you’re constantly bombarded with messages about how you should avoid boredom and seek more variety. But the messages fail to mention that boredom often equates to consistency, and there’s power in consistency.

I’ve had the good fortune of speaking to hundreds of people that have achieved their version of success in their lives, and almost without fail, the one thing they have in common is consistency. And even they often joke about how exciting and perhaps even glamorous their lives look on the outside. But, in reality, they’re usually plugging away, performing the same activities day in and day out.

Across the range of finances, health, business, and relationships, all success is usually the result of what might be considered boring activities executed consistently over a long period of time. This is true because only when you’ve stuck to one thing long enough can you learn from it and then if needed, make changes to improve your process.

Let’s look at one example from the list above. If you speak to a professional athlete, a person that makes their living based on the quality of their health, you’ll soon learn that they usually stick to the same handful of foods. They do this because, while it might be boring, it delivers the results they’re looking for. And while they might, on occasion, have a ‘cheat day,’ aka variety, they quickly revert to the stability of their boring diets.

So, while you might be tempted to continuously seek variety in your life, please understand that long-term success in any area of life is usually the result of long-term and, in many cases, boring activities performed consistently over time.

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