The word consistency has been posted in various locations for easy visual reference. On post-its notes on my wall, on the whiteboard in my apartment, and in my journals. For the last 12-18 months, I have pondered the concept that whatever you do with consistency, be that good or bad, is what your end product will be. I guess it's similar to the idea of "where focus goes, energy flows". It is a positive and, more importantly, a simple concept. Less is more.
As I sit here writing this, I do so with a slightly ironic grin, as one of the items on my list was to write more consistently. That has not been the case, with social media being a big reason behind that. See my previous post for more on that minefield. But I cannot entirely lay the flame at Social Media's feet.
So why do so many of our best intentions splutter and grind to a halt? Hours of effort and energy are invested to create the initial inertia. Then before you know it, you realise that you have stalled and no longer carry that initial momentum and enthusiasm. I am the first to admit that this is a somewhat nuanced topic with many parts, but I will focus on one to keep things concise.
I now understand that knowing what you must do is only half the battle or less than half. The more significant part of the puzzle is to know and truly understand one's Why for doing something. The Why is the fuel that powers the engine of consistency. Your Why is the motivational elixir. Understanding your reasons for doing something helps push you through the inevitable struggles and 'feelings' that will attempt to halt your progress.
The alarm goes off at 5 am to get up for that run. Why? Because you know that you have a marathon in 6 weeks and completing this challenge is essential to you, you want this. You have your why. Up you get.
As mentioned earlier, this all seems so simple. Then why do most of us trip up on the second or third set of hurdles? Feelings, that's why. As humans, we feel, we think, and we overthink. An excellent book by Mel Robbins called The 5 Second Rule uses a deceptively simple tactic to deal with those feelings and promote action. Whenever you think of something you need to do, get out of bed, put on the running shoes or get off the couch, you count back from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and move. Any longer than 5 seconds, your thinking, feeling mind takes over, and you go nowhere. They say it takes twenty-one days to form a habit, so after three weeks of diligently performing this little ritual, I can vouch for its remarkable effectiveness. I successfully used it in my life for about two years. Of course, then some life event derailed me a bit, I lost the habit and consistency, and back to square one, we go.
Therein lies the lesson for all of us. Everything in life is a cycle, like the waves of an ocean; everything has an up and a down. We can only sometimes know our why, and we can only sometimes be consistent. So be kind to yourself and know you can't always be 'on'. Ride the waves.
So as I sit here in my local coffee shop, alpha waves playing in my ears, in an attempt to focus my mind, I cannot help but repeat the words consistency and why. I have realised of late that my why could be more explicit. The vision or purpose, and direction are slightly blurry or very blurry. However, it is not the anxiety-inducing feeling it once was. The learned tools of consistency and awareness have brought me to a place where I can alleviate any bubbling emotions. I am now at a point where I have experienced definite moments in life where I could do the work, act consistently and trust the process. I have a proven template that I can implement.
All we need is to be consistent, and now we know why.
Look out for part 2 next time as we break down the positives and negatives of this concept of Consistency.