There is so much wisdom hidden in the Chinese language. I had a hard time deciding where to begin.

So I reflected : what are some things that deeply influenced my life ？

First thing that came to mind—The power of consistency.

Not my wins. Nor my stories of adventure.

Consistency.

And the power of consistency is beautifully summarized in one simple expression:

日积月累 (rì jī yuè léi)

I will explain what this expression means in a minute and why it can change your life.

Or you can watch my personal stories on the power of consistency here on my YouTube channel.

Many people have it backwards.

They believe that success is measured by the outcomes : their titles, their achievements, their “engagement rates” on social media.

I was no exception.

I once fell into the trap of believing that I needed more titles and degrees to do impactful things.

Heck, I even applied to medical school…And got accepted !

Spoiler alert, I declined the offer and did not become a doctor. And this subsequently led to the most challenging three years of my life up to that point.

In those three years, I struggled immensely to find my own voice as a newly graduated dietitian offering nutrition counseling in psychiatry… in French.

In the beginning, my French was so broken I couldn’t even do small talk with my coworkers.

Imagine the fear I faced during clinical rounds with psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.

I remember the first ever clinical round. My stomach felt like a nauseous mess. Everyone was quiet. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to give a detailed report of my clinical judgement… in French !

I stuttered my way through, barely able to hide the shakiness in my voice. I knew at that point that my suboptimal French communication skills were revealed.

My patients also noticed. Many of them would politely correct my grammar during counseling sessions.

Listen, I wanted to quit that job so many times in the first year.

But I didn’t. And that was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.

I focused on refining the art of nutrition counseling. I read books and took trainings whenever I can.

I continued to improve my French. I paid attention to how my patients and colleagues were using vocabularies. I spent countless hours reading books while writing down unfamiliar expressions. I would then use new vocabularies in my nutrition consultation reports.

That was the epitome of 日积月累 being lived through my life.

日积月累 describes the process of accumulating skills day in and day out.

Each action seems small, yet their cumulative effect is significant.

It sums up the incredible and often-overlooked compounding power of consistent actions.

By the end of those three years, I was completely transformed.

I became fluent in French.

I became a skilled dietitian who navigated complex clinical situations with grace and ease.

And best of all, I made more than a hundred clinical nutrition teaching tools that continue to benefit the patients of that hospital to this day.

People saw what I was capable of in the end and believed it was talent.

And I can tell you it was not.

It was hardcore consistency that changed the game for me.

It was the willingness to put in the work even if I couldn’t see nor predict the outcome.

In a way, consistency is a practice that requires courage and faith. It requires giving up the need to control or predict the outcome.

In the end, the impressive outcomes people saw didn’t matter to me any more.

What mattered was who I became in the process.

And the process made me believe this :

The confidence you gain from consistently taking brave and imperfect actions is something that can carry you through any future storm.

Because you realize that no matter how many times you fail or disappoint yourself, you always have the capacity to get back up and try again.

So friends, if you are working towards a vision, stay the course.

One day, the path will become clear.

And you will look back and thank yourself for your relentless consistency.

P.S. If you liked this article, you are surely going to enjoy my video on this very topic. Go check it out!

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Until next time.

Love,

Crystal