consistency, it matters.

Do you do what you say you'll do? Do your actions speak the same as your words? Do you show up in your relationships consistently -- however that is -- time and time again? Whether you're a parent, a spouse, a girlfriend, a boss, a leader -- this is worth considering. When I'm consulting business owners about branding I tell them that in creating a brand and then maintaining the consistency of that brand, its voice, its experience, that's what drives trust. And when you gain the trust of your customer, in this case, you're likely to also gain their referrals and their repeat business.

When considering personal relationships, I realize it's not too different. Your ability to show up as a certain person or certain role in someone's life doesn't matter at all if you only do it one time, or every so often. People need consistency to build trust. So you need to show up and keep showing up. You need to do what you'll say you'll do. You need to be aware of that other person's needs/wants and expectations of you and you need to decide who you're able to be, who you want to be for that person and then BE IT. It sounds a bit cumbersome but it's actually quite easy. However, we all have baggage, we all have people who haven't shown up for us, or how haven't been consistent. And sometimes without even knowing it we let those experiences come into other, unrelated relationships and that impacts how we show up; how we think we're showing up and/or how we want to show up.

So I'll leave you with this question to ponder (after all, the first step is becoming aware and gaining that clarity so you can make any shifts you choose to make) -- are you showing up how you want in your relationships? And more importantly, are you being consistent?