Consistency is Key
I am quite late for resolutions and purposely so. This year, I wanted to find a theme for my life. Something that I can apply to all my fields of interests, that will keep me motivated across the board. I want to focus on consistency. Just being consistent.
I realised that I often take up things such as gym and a few months later I fallout. To solve this I needed to understand why. For you it can be a list of many things, but I found I often take on more than I cope with and I get so disappointed when I can’t go to the gym or achieve my targets that I give up all together.
Why consistency?
It allows me to focus on the now. Too many times people focus on future results or long results, these take time and can often be discouraging to people especially during the early days. I’ve also found that I daydream a lot about future plans, and without any consistent planning of what I need to do now to get there, dreams will remain dreams.
By focusing my energy on being consistent rather than long term results I am able to shift my reward system to celebrating the little successes rather than having to wait for the end results. By acknowledging daily wins I get to satisfy my need for immediate recognition.
Here’s how I plan to achieve my consistency theme for the year:
-Planning. Very important. Can be in the form of a Google Calendar or Productivity Planner or even a to do list. I prefer apps that send me notifications. They come in handy especially when I get busy. I want to focus on getting things done, not thinking about what to do next. This also allows me not to take on more than I can chew and on the flip side actually makes me flexible when something new or an interruption comes up.
-Focus on being consistent rather than long term results: You don’t have to be extreme, just be consistent. Your ultimate goal might be too loose 5kgs, or generate a million dollars in revenue by the end of the year or even ace an exam. But we have to admit something needs to be done today to make it happen.
-Celebrate consistency: Acknowledging an accomplishment has to be one of the greatest feelings ever. Especially when it’s by me for me. Important to note, avoid enemies of progress. Don’t kill yourself doing cardio then celebrate by diving in head first in a plate of unhealthy fast food. This is counter productive to what you are trying to achieve. After a really good workout I reward myself with a great healthy fruit smoothy or fruit salad.
- Review: Set up reviews for your long term milestones. Depending on how you’d like, these can be weekly on even monthly. Find a way to do a periodic check.
Lastly, create a mantra for it. For this year, mine will be “Consistency is key”.
