Consistency — Consistency — Consistency
What is consistency?
Let’s get clear on the definition so we can get clear on where we’re going to go with it. Webster’s defines consistency as agreement, harmony, uniformity, adhering together, and firmness. I want to add that consistency is the development of a habit through reinforced, intentional behavior supported by an accountability system.
Does consistency matter in the long run?
Pro baseball players are hired and fired and paid vast sums of money all based on their consistency, so yes it matters. Their paychecks and employability are all based on consistency as well. The truth is, so is yours. Whether it’s in business, your personal life, your health, or your finances, we get paid and earn rewards based on consistency.
Those high paying baseball players aren’t the guys who show up every six or seven games and hit a home run. It’s the guy who shows up at every game, every time, at bat, that gets on base, or gets the other player advanced, or avoids the out, and they are the ones that get paid the big bucks. Everything worthwhile in life takes dedication and time. Everything is going to be difficult before it’s easy.
Are you one of those who has a habit of failure?
Often when I start with a new client, they have fallen into a behavior habit of failure. What I mean by that is they start, stop, restart, redo, try something different, go back to the lab and try to modify it, etc. All of that effort, with no results, becomes addictive. They start to feel that pattern of failure but also begin to become addicted to the high of starting whatever is new and fresh and not the follow through needed to reach the success they seek. What I mean is some of us get addicted to that starting of a new plan instead of getting addicted to the doing and doing and doing over. We feel sometimes it can be a lonely place just to show up and do it. To do what’s expected, to do what we’ve committed to, to become consistent.
Small, simple steps
What is that desired result? Whether it’s a yearly goal (health, finances, relationships, business, etc.) or a bucket list goal (jump out of a plane, travel to Europe, learn a second language, etc.). Let’s walk the goal down to the desired result in small, simple steps. Even a slow boat can make it to shore as long as somebody keeps their hands on the sails.
Let’s say I want to lose 20 pounds because it’s a common goal but also practical to see how you can change “20 pounds” to any other word. We have two options:
I could chop off my left leg, and that would be worth about 20 pounds maybe a little more, but it wouldn’t serve me in the long run. That significant dramatic change wouldn’t be to my benefit.
So let’s go back to the second option — the what, the how, the why, and the when.
What: Is it just 20 pounds I want to lose, or do I want to get healthier? Is it 20 pounds or smaller waist size? Is it 20 pounds or being sexier by summer? Be honest with what you want, and you are clear on it then move to how.
How: The how isn’t so much to cut out carbs, go running, to kettle ball, etc. Those are instruments or tools, but the how has to be what are you willing to trade, to give up, to exchange, to get? It has to be something you are ready to sacrifice whether it’s time, a favorite food, or hanging out with friends. The how (the exchange of goods or services) has to present.
Why: It’s essential to get clear on the why. How is that going to make you feel? What is a real true motivating force for the why? When I talk about why it’s about, “I’m feeling this way, and I no longer want to feel that way.” There is always this pain point place you want to move away from into a pleasant place that you want that this activity somehow sits in the middle of. For 20 pounds, it might be “I’m tired of always feeling sluggish.” The why has to be a feeling.
When: When do you want to start how? When do you want the result? If it’s one of those bucket list things, we give ourselves all kinds of time to start and restart and fail and try again and modify and twist and change if your goal is to lose 20 pounds by 2018 or whatever…no. Move it all the way down to today. When do you want to start making those changes? When do you want to start giving up the ice cream or doing an extra 20 minutes of aerobics? When do you want to feel that change in your life occurring? When do you want to start moving away from the pain and moving towards the future? The sooner you start, the sooner you will begin to move into the results you are seeking, into the change, into the feeling you have been wanting.
We don’t have to invest a million dollars up front to get growth. What we have to do is invest daily into that growth, into that behavior. When that behavior is locked in is when we get results.
Set a habit, do it consistently day in and day out at the highest level you can, and soon it will become a behavior and that behavior will start to bring you results and results will bring you the feelings of who you want to be.
How you do anything is how you do everything.
