You can’t judge someone’s consistency in a week. Give it a season.

REFLECTION

WHAT THIS MEANS

Anyone can be impressive for seven days. New effort runs on novelty, and novelty lasts about that long, which is why a first week tells you almost nothing about whether something will hold. Consistency only becomes visible once the interesting part wears off and the person keeps going anyway. Time is the only test that works.

When somebody makes a promise or starts something new, including you, stop grading it early. Check back in a couple of months. Whatever is still happening then is the real answer, and it is worth waiting for rather than guessing at.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Who have you judged on one week of behavior?

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