A Drop in The Bucket

One day my Tae Kwon Do instructor took our entire class into the locker room to look at a bucket sitting under a leaky faucet. 

He told us, “This bucket is you and the faucet is your workouts.” 

Nervously, the class looked at each other. Our faces silently screaming, “What the heck is he talking about? Why am I a bucket?” 

The instructor explained, “Every workout is a drop in the bucket. Individually each drop may not mean much, but if you’re consistent, you’ll soon have a full bucket!” 

That’s stuck with me ever since. People can do many things to get results, but the most important is being consistent. It shows up in all sorts of ways and as important as I always knew it was, I’ve seen evidence that it’s even more impactful than I realized.

So much that I believe the most reliable predictor of long-term success over the first 6 weeks of an exercise program is whether or not someone consistently shows up! 

Yes. That’s more important than literally anything else. And the reason for that gets back to the bucket. Each workout is a drop. A great one may be two, but they don’t come along very often. Maybe one day you’re a little tired so that one’s half a drop, but they all go into the bucket.  

When you first start an exercise program, you’re building a habit first and foremost. Too often, people think the world is going to change for them immediately after starting, and when they realize this isn’t the case, their enthusiasm fades as does their participation. We can thank the fitness industry for that false expectation. The truth is that no single workout is going to change the world for someone just like one drop is barely noticeable in a bucket. Once those workouts start piling up, though? Well, you can imagine the answer.  

So, show up! Put it on your schedule and don’t let things get in the way. When working out, be consistent in how you approach it. Feel the movements. Pay attention to your form. Work hard. As I said, showing up is important, but while you’re there…really BEthere. That approach is a habit, too, and that kind of consistency is going to fill your bucket up even faster.