The Struggle for Consistency

If there's one thing I can say with great pride, it's that I've changed — and changed for the better. I feel much more confident in pursuing my dreams, bolder in accepting new challenges, more determined to speak my mind without fear of what others will think, and, best of all, I'm more punctual!

However, I still have much to achieve, and one area I feel I need to improve is my consistency and persistence. This blog is living proof of that, as I haven't posted here in months. With life's hustle and lack of time, I often end up spending my few free hours scrolling through social media feeds, using the excuse of needing to rest.

I don't need to talk about the negative effects of social media — we all know them — but we can't do without them because they're useful for work and social life. I'm not one of those who sees deleting all profiles and apps as the only solution, but if I had the power, I would have suggested creating social media without the addictive factor.

Our brains are wired to seek pleasure and reward. When faced with the choice between sitting down for an hour to read a book or watching a 15-second video, it's hardly a fair competition. Of course, I'll choose the quick, effortless dopamine rush from those 15 seconds.

If our brain needs and likes dopamine, why then should I deprive it of something that is theoretically good? What's the real problem with resting while browsing on the phone or binge-watching series and movies? The root of the problem isn't in the result or the source, but in the essence.

We were created to have contact with nature and creation. In the book of Genesis, after God created all things, He gave man the duty to tend the garden (Gen 2:15). He made all the plants and animals in our ecosystem for us to care for them. That's why we seek relaxation by going into nature or trying to combat our solitude with pets and plants. Because when we return to the essence of our creation, we find real pleasure and a more lasting sense of satisfaction.

This would be a quick and concise way to try to explain that if we are living according to God's will, we will find a deeper sense of pleasure and meaning — we will be under the purpose for which we were created and exist. However, enjoying this blessing is a choice.

That's why in Galatians the apostle Paul will say that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-26) and guides us to stand firm in freedom (Gal 5:1). Because true freedom is not being enslaved or limited to doing what I always want, but having the ability to control myself and choose what will do me good, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually. If I'm always doing what I want, I become a slave to my desires; my will and pursuit of pleasure dominate me. However, I wasn't created for my pleasure, but for God's pleasure.

If it were up to me, I would live eating only hamburgers, pizza, and french fries. After all, it's so delicious, but I know that if I eat this every day at every meal, my body will lack nutrients, and I'll end up with high blood pressure. That's why I control myself to have a healthy and balanced diet, renouncing my desire for fatty foods all the time, so that I can enjoy a pizza and a hamburger without guilt at the right moment.

Therefore, living for Christ requires renouncing my momentary pleasures, quick and easy to obtain, to achieve the pleasure that aligns with the essence of my creation and purpose. That's why having consistency and persistence is something I consider very important and wish to improve upon, because I want to be able to have the self-control to give up hours of scrolling through feeds to do something I enjoy and consider relaxing and pleasurable, like walking in a park, writing, painting, riding a bicycle, or reading a good book.

For me, it's worth more to be connected with my essence and purpose than to seek quick and momentary forms of satisfaction and instant dopamine. That's why I strive to overcome the distractions of social media and other attention-grabbers; I know there are better ways to spend my time. Making these better choices constant in my life depends solely on my committed practice of mindful renunciation.