One Step at a Time

6. Be Consistent (The Encouragement Manifesto)

Four years on, we sometimes find it hard to remember … the isolation, the illnesses, the losses, and the way our society was changed by a global pandemic. Perhaps, too, if we were blessedly unaffected, and members of our families weren’t touched by sadness, the memories of COVID-19 and all the side effects have been dimmed by the passage of time.

But others have tales to tell about the long-term effects and we can all walk some miles in their shoes and learn from their experiences.

We love how resilient

Andrea Norrington

has been and how generously she shares the struggles delivered by the longer-term effects of a major brush with the pandemic. We admire - so much - the strength of character it takes to keep showing up when the mind and body are constantly questioning if it is worth it. It is always worth it and every small step, every consistent repetition, makes a huge difference. But Andrea knows all about that - it is her story you should hear.

This new collaborative project The Gift of Words* is brimful of human tales, stories written by real folk we can all relate to, so this piece fits the collection perfectly.

* follow this link if you would like to add to this collection of encouraging words.

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Photo by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash

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I feel a bit of a fraud sitting here writing this. Many months ago, I said I would write about being consistent. A half-finished draft of this post has sat on my computer for weeks. I’ll do that tomorrow I kept saying. Of course, as we know well, tomorrow never comes.

So here I am, today, getting this written.

What is being consistent? For me, it is showing up regularly to whatever you want to do. It is not the planning, the thinking ahead but the actual doing, being in the present. The element of consistency can be the smallest task you can imagine. If you want to run a marathon, you need to put on the running shoes and take that first step out of the door.

So here is my story about being consistent.

I had been very ill for a while. Several years had passed and the fatigue my body felt was so strong that I was confined most of the time to bed, and on a few good days I might make it downstairs. Even going outside in the garden was often too much. Too bright, too cold, too hot, too much going on.

It was an insular life, getting smaller and more restricted day by day.

The medical tests all came back normal. There is nothing we can do the doctors said. I was told the future was bleak. There was a referral to a physiotherapist. My balance was terrible, I was falling over all the time. I would seem to trip over my own legs.

What’s the point I thought, but I went to the appointment.

Here was the lucky break, the physiotherapist had just been transferred from working with patients in a rehabilitation ward.

She listened and then spoke.

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I’m going to give you four exercises on this sheet of paper. She demonstrated each in turn and then drew them out. They were the most basic of stretches.

For the first few days or so, I don’t want you to try any of the exercises. This appointment will wipe you out. But I do want you to look at the sheet of paper every day and remember me doing the exercises.

When you feel ready, do one repetition of one of the exercises. Just one. No more. Then rest for a few days, but still look at the sheet every day.

Repeat.

Then at some point, add another repetition. Do the same.

Slowly add in repetitions until you are doing five. Then add in another of the exercises.

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I looked at her, seriously what was the point of one repetition?

One isn’t going to do anything.

I’ll see you in three months and see how you are getting on.

But I did follow her advice. I looked at the sheet each day for a few days and then started doing one repetition every few days as she had said.

Always looking at the sheet each day even if I did no exercises.

Three months later, I saw her again, I was now doing three of the exercises with five repetitions each.

She added two more exercises and said to keep going.

Same approach. See you in 2-3 months.

You can see the story, each day I looked at the sheet. The days I was able to do the exercises I did, adding more repetitions over the weeks.

After my third appointment, she added some more exercise. I now had ten exercises working up to ten repetitions of each.

By the time of my final appointment, almost a year after I first saw her, things were improving. My energy levels were increasing. The change was so gradual that it was hard to notice. Slowly and steadily the changes had built month by month, season by season.

The physiotherapist taught me the powerful tool of visualisation and this is something I still use to this day. But the most valuable lesson was to do what you can each day, and most importantly of all, to show up every day.

Can one repetition of one exercise change you, yes it can. It’s not about the volume of intensity or even quality. It is about showing up time and time and time again.

That builds.

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"I accumulated small but consistent habits that ultimately led to results that were unimaginable when I started"

― James Clear (author of 'Atomic Habits’)

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Andrea has wanted to write for a long time so Substack has provided a home for her musings. Currently, she is embarked on a personal journey ‘52 into 52’, a year of making things happen.

“For a long time I’ve wanted to write more so here we go on a journey.

This is a new place to share pieces of my writing. It can be quite sporadic and topics rather random but let’s see what happens. I love comments and inspiration so do feel free to share your thoughts.

At the moment I am writing weekly over on 52 into 52 about my year of making things happen. Come follow me over there.”

We do hope you will join Andrea on her journey.