“In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”
Anthony Robbins
CONSISTENCY IS HARD WHEN you've got no one cheering for you…
As I stare at my keyboard in anticipation of what this post will entail, I remind myself that I am the most inconsistent blogger I know of.
The word consistency is summoned from my mind, and I wonder, consistency in what regard? Life, work, blogging what? We can't ascribe consistency to only one aspect of our lives, the thing about it is, it tends to affect everything else if we can pull it off. So to answer my question, consistency in life is what we'll be discussing.
But I know first hand how difficult it is to create a routine that is consistent, yet I also know to be productive is highly predicated on consistency. You cannot get results from anything if you do not persist, nurture and keep at it.
Yet, it is hard to be consistent when you don't get the results you want from all the work you put into a project. We get discouraged when no one's cheering us on, when our efforts aren't rewarded. Why persist when there's no benefit? I speak from experience and here's what I've learnt.
Even though it is hard to keep on when results are SLOW, you've got to remind yourself WHY you started that project in the first place. If you blank out here, get a pen or grab your laptop and be sure to scribble down the WHY of whatever you start.
So even when the benefits don't bloom as quickly as you want, and you get tempted to quit, let your WHY be powerful enough to push you on. Do not stop until you get what you want. As I said in a previous post, you only get the things you work for, so WORK until you get the result you want.
You're your own survival crew. If you need cheering, cheer yourself on. Tell yourself you're proud of you. Do it, and keep doing it because we eat an elephant one tiny bit at a time.
Learning to be consistent is a very powerful personal development tool that will propel you towards real results in life. Once you master the art, your life runs like a well oiled engine headed for perfection, improvement and achievements.
"We are what we repeatedly do" - Aristotle
Here are a few tips I have implemented into my routine:
- Form A Consistent Daily Routine
To get into the habit of consistency, you need to establish a routine. Start small, like I've previously said, do the little things first and work your way up. Start by writing out everything you need to get done tomorrow, make a clear progressive list. It should include the most basic thing like;
- Wake up at 7:00 AM
- Take five minutes to breathe and meditate.
Include the simplest things and tick them off as you go. Make it a routine, and then work your way from daily tasks to goals split into weekly reoccurring tasks.
A good app to use is the Microsoft Task or the Calenders App. Break your goals down into daily achievable tasks. Plan out your entire day, week and month. Assign a timeframe to what needs to be done and work to achieve that. By breaking goals down into small achievable tasks, and starting with the little things, you're suddenly doing the impossible. And by keeping at your routine, you slowly build a consistent workflow that drives you and fuels your purpose towards accomplishing your goals.
2. It Starts With The Mind
Mindset is everything. There's a post from way back when Silent Things was still called Inspired Lives, where I stated that Greatness is A State of Mind. We ultimately become what we think, so believe you can, and you're half way there. So it starts conviction; remind yourself that you can, and you will, and keep reminding yourself. That moment you wake in the morning, remind yourself of your affirmations. Start your day with the mindset of a productive and capable achiever. At the moment before you drift off to sleep at night, applaud yourself for completing your daily tasks. Remind yourself of how far you've come and keep your spirits up.
Keep your mind on the prize, steer yourself towards greatness.
3. Always Remember The WHY
As you work tirelessly to achieve consistency in life, work and everything else, you need to prepare for the waves of self-doubt that will arise. When you feel like reverting to your previous state of inconsistency, either because of lack of interest, laziness or just sheer frustration, whatever it is, always remember the WHY. This is why I insisted on establishing the WHY before anything else, because it will help you tackle self-doubt.
We're working to change our mindset, but that doesn't mean our mind doesn't sometimes think things we don't want it to, like the classic 'what's the point of this?' 'What if it's all for nought?' 'What if it doesn't work?' When those try to steer you away from building consistency into your life, take a moment to remind yourself of WHY you need it. Pull the note out and read it, re-read it until it instills itself, then get back to work.
4. Know When To Quit
There are some things that will just never work, and no matter how consistent you are, it still won't work. Consistency isn't the solution to some things, learn to know when certain things need to either be approached with a whole new strategy or needs to be put off for good. Not all difficult roads lead to beautiful beginnings, or impossible situations bloom, some things are straight out not going to work and once you've given it as much time as it deserves, if it still bears no fruit, move on. Time's precious and resistance in the wrong regard is like a stone rolling down a hill.
Evaluate the project, or situation from a larger vantage point. There are truly difficult and intimidating hardships in life and will crumbling projects that just won't yield. But is it a matter of it just hasn't yielded yet, and I still have a few other angles to try, or I've done all I can possibly do and have no regrets, or there's nowhere to yield?
Learn the different, so you don't waste time on things that won't pan out all in the name of being consistent.
5. Self Appraisal
Take time out weekly, evaluate your tasks and goals. How much have you achieved? How organized have you become? Can you see a difference between when you started and where you are now? What's lacking? What needs more gravitas and what's doing just fine? Are you able to now do things without reminders blaring to keep you on track?
If you don't do this, how do you know if building consistency in the things you want to be consistent in is working? You're a one man/woman crew, so you need to take stock of how you're performing and tweak what needs tweaking. Building consistency, as I said is a great step towards productivity and organization and when paired with consistent appraisals, it becomes even more efficient.
This is where I leave you; CONSISTENCY IS HARD WHEN you've got no one cheering for you, but you've got you, and that's all you need. Keep going, it'll pay off in due time.