Test of Today - Consistency vs. Monotony
November 7th, 2025
Salam.
Happy Friday. Jumaa’ Mubaraka.
I hate to sound boring but I guess that’s partially what I signed myself up for by doing this challenge.
Prior to the concussion and the diagnoses, I didn’t have an “issue” with routine. I obviously could still procrastinate but I didn’t generally have an issue with having daily tasks and getting them done, that is until that changed.
The daily urge to say “kids these days” had to often be supressed because I found myself living my life more akin to the older generation. Once I joined the workforce after university, I enjoyed going to the office. I enjoyed venting with my friends and going to weekly hot pilates classes together to destress from it all. From weekly trivia to weekend studying, I thrived when I was busy.
Some days, I struggle walking up the hill back home now. I have issues with pain, so my sleep pattern was heavily disrupted. Similarly, I haven’t had the same attention span I did years ago nor the ability to focus for hours on end with no interruption.
Though some of these challenges are just par for the course of growing up but I know that I’ve also become so fearful of disrupting my own comfort and safety, that I’ve allowed myself to become complacent to my circumstances. While I used to have routine, I would never have described my life as tedious or predictable.
Now, I can most often predict what my days will look and feel like - stressors included. I think a major reason is that I’m afraid of the outcomes. I’m afraid of failing or somehow injuring myself further.
The last year has been difficult for a myriad of reasons and the only way I see myself coming out of this mental rut is by forcing change. Taking time away from work for my health was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make but it has truly forced me to reflect and commit to myself.
I’ve been living a monotonous life the last several months. I’ve been driving the self-proverbial ship on autopilot and dissociating from the fact that I’ve been struggling.
Autopilot is great until you need to decide, do you go left or right?
I started this challenge so I could remind myself that consistency is not the same as monotony. To be reliable and accountable, is not the same as being unstable and irresponsible. Words have meaning after all and as I have learned, the way we speak to and about ourselves is extremely important.
This generation struggles with consistency, I think. We love options but we’re often inhibited by the overwhelming number we’re constantly surrounded by. We fear monotony but deep-down, we crave consistency.
Whether it’s our food or our clothes, we are craving the quality of what used to be, at least that’s what I believe. Our minds and bodies know that there was a time where we didn’t have to buy prebiotic or probiotic food, we just ate foods that nourished us. We didn’t have to worry about chemicals in our clothing leeching into our skin. The constant worry and need to do everything “right” are immobilizing, whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not.
On this health journey, I’ve been committed to researching my diagnoses and looking for holistic ways to manage my symptoms and my pain. I hate taking pain killers every day and especially multiple times a day - and that is what I was doing for months. It made me physically irritated and mental sick; I got the pill “ick” as the kids would say.
I’m trying to rebuild the consistency I’ve been missing in my life. From my physical routine to the mental one, I am trying to rebuild the foundation that I spent two decades constructing. I’m extremely grateful for the people that helped me then and are helping me now, because God knows I’d be lost without them.
Any tips on building good habits or on pain management, my inbox is open! I’ll happily share what I’ve learned as well if anyone is interested too.
That’s all for today, folks.
Ta-ta and Salam, friends.
Disclaimer: I don’t use AI to write, research, or edit my content. I like to use dashes so please don’t fault me for that!