The Importance of Consistency

The Importance of Consistency

“I want to find and become the best version of myself,” one of my clients said during our coaching call. To do that, you must have goals; you must know what you want to do in your life, who you want to become, what you want to accomplish, what your dreams are, etc. When you set your goals, you have to be self-disciplined to achieve them. Today we are going to talk about consistency, which is part of self-discipline and a skill you can develop.

Let’s start from what’s happening when you don’t have consistency.

 •  You are more likely to stop chasing your dreams and your goals with the first difficulty you would encounter.

 •  You let yourself down because you might haven’t seen instant results from your efforts.

 •  It can affect your professional life and hurt your reputation. Lack of consistency does not bring value to the customers and it leaves them confused and frustrated because they expect the same standards from you.

For example, imagine that you have a restaurant with the best fish in town. It’s known for being fresh, really tasteful and everybody loves it. If you stop (for whatever reason) serving the same quality of food you used to serve, you let down your customers and that can hurt your reputation and your business.

Many people don’t have consistency because they lack patience. We live in a world of instant gratification. If we are hungry, we order food and in a few minutes, it is on our table. We don’t go through the process of cooking and waiting for the food to be ready. If we get bored, we open the TV, we check our phones, we swipe right or left in the dating apps to find him/her we are attracted to. We don’t go outside to meet new people, to go through the process of feeling uncomfortable, to engage with the other person, because those things require time and energy.

One more reason that we might lack consistency is that we don’t have supporting habits. For instance, if you want to start reading books, set your physical environment in a way that will help you achieve your goal. Clean your desk and leave only the book you want to start reading on it. Another example is if you want to start running early in the morning, all you have to do is to prepare the night before. Prepare your clothes and your running shoes; place them next to your bed, so they will be the first thing you’ll see in the morning. It will be clear to you what you have to do.

What are the benefits of consistency?

1.Creates accountability
When I ask my colleagues to be consistent with deadlines and the quality of the service we provide, they also expect the same from me. I create a schedule with plenty of meetings, to discuss the project we’re working on and I make sure to give them enough time to complete it.

2. Establishes reputation
Consistency will keep your reputation “alive”. Either you have amazing products, or you are a great athlete, or you are generous and you contribute to your community, or you have a positive impact in the world in general, you have to continue doing it to maintain your reputation.

3. It’s about progress
Consistency helps you develop and learn from your mistakes. For example, you are on a diet to lose weight, but after several weeks you don’t see the results you wanted. Maybe you have to change the number of your servings or to add some exercise or to fix your sleep schedule. When we have consistency, we can see what works and what doesn’t, and make the right adjustments to achieve our goal.

4. Makes you ready
Consistency makes you ready and it gives you the self-confidence to perform at a high level on your craft. They used to ask Kobe Bryant how it felt to take the last shot and he answered that it wasn’t something he hasn’t done thousands of times in the training. So, consistency is preparing you for tomorrow.

How can you stay consistent?

A) Make a plan
Start by setting small goals. You will “build” consistency as you accomplish your small goals because as we’ve already said, consistency is a skill you can develop.

B) Eliminate negative thinking
Try to reduce and eliminate negative thoughts.  Don’t give in to your “saboteur” that says you; “you’re not enough“ and tries to devalue your effort. Surround yourself with positive people that support you and they want the best for you.

C) Be in full of charge of your life
Change your “wish” to “desire”. Stop thinking “I wish I’d had less weight” and start thinking “I have the eager desire to lose weight”. If you have an important meeting tomorrow, start preparing for it today. If you want a better future, start working on it today. As Jim Rohn said: “Ambitious people know that everything they do and every discipline they adhere to, form the links in the chain of events that will lead them to their final destination.”