Consistency Is An Art Form

When I watched the last episode of the show Parks and Recreation, I cried. When I watched the movie Avengers Endgame, I cried. Sure, these both have some memorable characters and are well loved by a lot of people. But no one who takes art seriously would compare these to other deeply moving, artistic works. 

That’s because their real art is consistency. 

Consider the daily vlog. There’s nothing very special about a vlog. Their premise is to literally show you the details of the creator’s day. No special effects or thought-out storyline here. And yet millions of people are moved by their consistency to like, comment, subscribe, and turn notifications on. Thousands buy tickets to meet and greets and conferences, just to catch a glimpse of these generous YouTubers.

Up to this point, I’ve only ever heard the word “consistency” used in conversations about strategy. Community managers plan out the frequency of content with the same pragmatism they use to research hashtags. But what vloggers, sitcom writers, and Twitch streamers have found out is that people are moved when others show up day in and day out. The specifics of the art don’t really matter compared to its consistency. 

Consider the full time Barista. She knows her regulars’ kids’ names, she’s excited to meet her customers’ parents, and she asks how everyone’s vacation was. Because she sees her customers six days a week. She’s generous, kind, very skilled and consistent. She has immeasurably more positive impact on people than a vast majority of people in “meaningful fields”.

The digital content landscape is a block of raw marble. It’s a 15 foot tall blank canvas, and a few brush strokes here or there won’t paint anything close to a full picture. 

So chip away. Start the stream, pull another shot, take another photo.

The consistent discipline of setting your perfectionism (ego) aside and putting your brush on the canvas is what creates truly meaningful art.