Just imagine going to a hill-station by bus or your car . As many of you would already have experienced, you will obviously have to go through several twists and turns, Right? One wrong turn … you drop down below … You cannot afford to stop inbetween as you will definitely slide backwards. You cannot speed up the accelerator sometimes and drastically slow down later. What is it then that gets you to the top? Slow, steady and consistent driving behind the wheel right?
The same logic does apply to reaching the pinnacle in life!
Why is it then that several people fail to be consistent when it comes to crucial aspects of their life? It could be fitness goals, health aspects, profession, winning habits and so on …
Is it due to lack of interest?
Having interest, is it due to lack of commitment?
Is it plain laziness or a “Let it be …” attitude?
Is it a lack of understanding on why we need to be consistent?
Let’s explore the possible reasons behind inconsistency … the silent killer of our goals and also what you can do about it …
The Big Picture Comprises Of Several Small Pieces
One of the prime reasons why people are not able to get to their respective goals is that the focus is only on the big picture. Now, don’t get me wrong! Keeping the big picture in your view is absolutely important but the focus needs to be on the small steps on a daily, weekly and monthly basis that will eventually lead to your goal.
This is where consistency comes into picture. When you consistently focus on the smaller pieces and execute it one by one, it will certainly lead you to the bigger picture.
Winning Habits, Not Just Habits Are The Key To Success
Success is often a result of certain habits practiced on a regular basis. Take for example, you want to lose 5 kgs of weight in the next 60 days. For this, you have to develop certain habits – a strict diet, exercise routine and so on which does need to be done on a consistent basis.
However, when it comes to executing them, many fail mid-way more often than not. One of the reasons behind this is that they do not register the habits as winning habits.
When you envelop the intention of developing a winning habit around yourself, the sense of joy and achievement you feel each day acts as a silent motivator for you to go further till you achieve your biggest goal.
This blog does give more information about certain habits which deviate us from success.
Breaking Old Patterns At The Subconscious Level
At times, it may so happen that you do intend to be really consistent in your efforts towards a goal. At a conscious level, you do try your level best. Still, you tend to break the chain of consistency. Why?
Analyse the pattern when you do plan for some goal and how you go about it. More often than not, you will be able to find a pattern which is actually breaking the chain of consistency. You may not be doing so at the conscious level but at the subconscious one. At such times, you will have to work at this level to break old, unproductive patterns which are actually preventing you from being consistent.
Getting Bored …
It might sound surprising but it’s possible that you might get bored of performing certain tasks. It’s not intentional but it so happens that going about a certain routine may create an impression of boredom. This usually happens when the routine tends to become monotonous.
Boredom can also stem from the way the results are turning out. Eg a goal like weight loss takes quite a long time. So, on a daily basis you may not be able to see much of an expected change. Sometimes, you might also be disappointed with the results. At such times, it is quite possible to go on a “No matter how long I work at it, no results are to be seen. I am bored of this routine” route.
All in all, a feeling of boredom does kill consistency. So, what can you do about it? I would suggest you to keep at your routine no matter what. However, change your focus to how you can possibly bring about variety in your routine without affecting it. Focus on how best you can enjoy the routine itself. Apply it to various areas in your life too.
When you make your routine itself interesting, you have a greater chance of developing consistency till you start following it on auto-pilot mode. Positive results will automatically follow.
This article by Shahram Heshmat throws more light on the actual causes of boredom and how to overcome it.
Getting Disturbed Due To Some Incident Breaks The Consistency Chain.
Sometimes, it may so happen that you will be following a certain flow religiously without being inconsistent. You may be working really hard at it. Suddenly, some negative incident, past memories or some other disturbance rocks your peace of mind and send you into a disturbed state. At such times, it is quite possible that whatever you have been doing abruptly stops and takes a back-seat. You tend to stop focusing on yourself as your focus does shift elsewhere.
Now, in certain situations this shift might be unavoidable which is understandable. However, in majority of the cases deviating from your consistency cycle will harm you more. At such times, I would suggest you to step back and re-evaluate the situation.
Eg Going through past memories again and again will not take you forward. You will only end up dropping whatever positive steps you have been taking to improve yourself. It will be very difficult to come out of the negative loop and start all over again. Emotionally, it might be difficult to get over it and proceed with what’s really important for you in the future but practically, you must do it. Each person’s situation will be different. So, you are the best judge when it comes to what is the next step you need to take in this regard.
Is There Any Progress In The Progress Meter?
Having a genuine desire to accomplish something is interest and converting that interest into results require what is called commitment. To make yourself committed to this, you need to be consistent at it. So, consistency does play a huge role in getting to your goals.
Now, how do you make sure that you work on your goals each and every day? The most effective way is by being accountable to yourself. Log down your efforts.
It may seem irritating at first – “Why do I have to write down what I have done? Where is the need for it?” Some of you out there might have gone through this while updating the daily status report too. However, logging down your efforts does work psychologically and it silently motivates you to do more qualitatively and quantitatively.
Over time, when you see the improvement graph in front of your eyes, it motivates you all the more. This habit also helps you keep in track of factors which possibly deviate you from your consistency cycle and eventually from your goals too. Thereby, it does become easier to keep a track on it.
If you are someone who would want to re-look at your consistency-building process, then you can schedule a Strategy call with me to discuss about your area of challenge.
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To your success always …
Best Regards,
Satish Rao
Co-Authored By Sushma Krishnan (Co-Founder, High Performance Alchemy)