Have you ever heard of the saying “consistency is the key to success”? This is actually quite true, and few successful people can, honestly, say that it didn’t play a role in their achievements (luck played a part too, of course).
But what exactly does it mean to be consistent?
Simply put, being consistent means putting in the dedication and effort into completing one or more tasks.
But don’t be misled into thinking that you need to or can even be consistent 24/7. Consistency, like the oceans’ waves, tends to ebb and flow. There are times when you will feel super motivated to get things done and also periods when you feel like doing nothing. Both are fine and even encouraged as long as you make progress towards your goal(s) within your specific time frame.
Consistency, like most things, is simple but not easy to develop, so here are some tips that can assist you in your journey.
Developing Consistency
1. Start Small
Dream big but start small.
You don’t need to make a big leap at the very beginning because there’s a good chance that you’re just setting up yourself for failure. Try instead to establish a solid foundation before tackling on something more challenging.
Little steps taken daily will accumulate and turn into big leaps over a sufficiently long period of time.
2. Plan It
You need to know what you want before you start. Unfortunately, a lot of people find planning difficult because of inexperience or the uncertainties involved. But that is exactly what makes planning important.
Think of planning as being similar to directing a movie. There needs to be a beginning, a middle, and an ending. The parts need to be cohesive with each other while still open to ad-lib and improvisations from the cast. That is exactly how a good plan should function because no plans are perfect.
Give the SMART planning framework a try if you are unfamiliar with the steps of effective planning.
3. Have the Correct Mindset
All other factors aside, your mindset will ultimately be the one thing that determines your success down the road. You may think that you need to have a rigid mindset to be consistent, but you likely need a flexible one as well. It all boils down to what your circumstances are at a particular moment and going with the approach that will serve you best.
It’s also important to allow room for failure because beating yourself up over failing isn’t useful. Instead, learn from your mistakes and recommit to get back on track. Just be sure not to fall into the “to a hammer, everything looks like a nail” trap.
Benefits Of Being Consistent
1. Develops Discipline and Self-Control
Consistency is a habit that you can cultivate and, as you might have guessed, requires certain degrees of discipline and self-control to achieve. The benefits of succeeding, though, can spill over to other parts of your life and become self-reinforcing.
In other words, being consistent requires and also develops discipline and self-control. And you know how difficult these are to come by with the various distractions in your daily life.
2. Builds Trust
You can build up a reputation for yourself by being consistent.
Think about someone you know who has been doing something consistently for a long time. Is there any doubt that this person would be more trustworthy than someone who is a known slacker?
The same applies to you.
The more consistent you are, the more likely that you will get noticed by others. This can also lead to opportunities that would not have been possible.
5. Helps You to Unlock and Realize Your Potential
How many people do you know that actually live up to their potential? Probably not a lot.
Success, you see, doesn’t come easy for most people. It requires a mindset similar to forging a sword, where you work with a lump of metal until it takes the desired shape and form.
Similarly, being consistent means that you stay on your path no matter the distraction and challenges while making sure that you do not miss the forest for the trees. It’s hard work and will feel demotivating at times.
But if you know what you’re worth, go out and get what you’re worth despite the hardship, fears, and self-doubts. After all, how can you expect to get what you want if you don’t even bother putting in the effort and being consistent about it?
So When’s the Best Time to Start?
Might we suggest…now?
You only have a limited amount of time left to do the things that you want, and what’s left is getting lesser and lesser by the second. Taking the first step may be hard, but being consistent can be harder because being good at something often requires the right mindset paired with appropriate actions.
Some days you will progress a little, other days a lot, and sometimes not at all. The criterion remains whether you are better off than you were before, and sometimes this is all that matters.
