‘Consistency is key’ is often heard at marketing meets, in business circles, in fact even when parents lecture their children! So what does the key unlock? That is the question to follow. The dictionary meaning of consistency talks about acting in a particular way throughout.
This consistency is the magic key that unlocks the door to success in any field. But consistency is not like an on/off thing. You need to be consistent in your action and your thoughts, in order to experience the success that it brings.
Consistency is key to success in life. But a lot of people struggle with the concept of being consistent. Have you ever thought about why it is so? This is because the idea looks extremely simple and tempting on the surface. But when you try to implement it in your day to day life, it proves to be a test of your patience.
The path to being consistent is not easy. It is lined with so many distractions. Above all, in the race to achieve the goals, people want quick results. Unfortunately, consistent work/ efforts may or may not yield results in the short term. However, that should not undermine your pursuit. Because in the long run, only being consistent will yield better results.
What is consistency?
Simply put, it is a habit. This habit is all about investing in constant efforts to make incremental progress. To understand this better, consider a hypothetical scenario. Say you are trying to teach a child to identify different objects in the surrounding. The first attempt to do so may not yield any positive results. But if you give up at this stage, the child will never learn. Therefore, you will need to employ a consistent approach.
This approach will involve regularly teaching the child. This may take a few days. But the effort becomes worthwhile when you see the child grasp the details and learn.
Similarly, think about your skills. It could be something as simple as calligraphy, singing, dancing, etc. You did not develop these skills overnight, did you? It must have taken consistent efforts on your part to learn. Our daily life is flooded with excellent examples of how consistency is key to succeeding. All we need to do is sit up and take note!
Three pillars of consistency
1. Value: If you maintain consistency in your efforts and action, you will be able to deliver the same value in your tasks, every single time. In fact, it will only improve over a period of time.
2. Patience: Irrespective of the amount of work involved, consistent efforts will ensure that you can manage the output. You have to be patient and focused if you intend to succeed.
3. Belief: This consistency in thoughts is what will motivate you to deliver results each time you take up a task. It is what shapes our lives.
In simple terms, consistency is like commitment, a promise that we make to ourselves to achieve something-no matter how small or big it is. After all, it is important to keep your word, isn’t it?
Why is consistency important?
Consistency seems like just another virtue, what’s the big deal about it? If this question pops in your head, you won’t be the only one. But look at this. What is the one common thing that you are likely to find in athletes across all types of sports? The answer is consistency. Yes! A certain consistency in their routine is what helps them succeed. Not just athletes, consistency is likely to be a common factor across leaders in all domains. Hence we can safely derive that consistency is one of the key virtues that helps you climb the ladder or achieve success.
Here are 10 reasons why consistency is important:
1. It leads to self discipline
Leadership gurus always talk about developing self-discipline to succeed. Well, when you are committed towards a goal, you work consistently to achieve it. This teaches you self-discipline which is extremely important to succeed.
2. Teaches self control
The road to success is not easy and surely you will have to face many difficult situations before you make it to the top. If you lose control of your emotions in tough times, you are likely to lose focus of your goal. Consistency teaches you to commit yourself towards achieving your goal. In tough times, this commitment to your goal motivates you to control your emotions and channelize the energy to keep going.
3. Helps build momentum
Like we said earlier, being consistent is like being committed to the cause. It builds passion and at the same time motivates you to work tirelessly. The obstacles that you face don’t put you down. In fact, the momentum that consistency breeds, helps in overcoming these challenges. Ultimately, you feel good about the work that you are doing.
4. Improves your personality
Consistency helps to add virtues like discipline, hard work and above all the confidence in your abilities. These virtues that add weight to anyone’s overall personality. Also lets not forget consistency also makes it easier to climb the ladder of success.
5. Creates a sense of accountability
When our consistency pays off, its time to look back and enjoy the success. Laud your efforts and celebrate what you have achieved as a result of their consistency. However, if the results are not as good as expected, consistency teaches you to take a step back and evaluate your actions to make amends.
6. Sense of measurement
The only way to understand if a particular route works for you or not, is to try it in a consistent manner. Therefore, this way consistency also provides a sense of measurement for the tasks.
7. Be noticed
Like they say, hard work never goes unnoticed. If you are working hard and your efforts are consistent, you are bound to achieve results. These results are like milestones that you cross as you carve your path to success. You are bound to get noticed and stand out for these achievements.
8. Builds trust
You are in a business and your customers love you for whatever you are doing. But something goes wrong. Now you have two options-to own up to what is wrong and make amends or to shy away and let things continue as they are. The first option is for those who believe in consistency. Not only do you manage to make amends, this will also result in people trusting you.
9. Teaches you to overcome challenges
The concept of consistency is focused on continuing trials in spite of challenges. If one lacks self-discipline, it is impossible to continue with consistent efforts. Such people are likely to retire from the race to succeed just after a few challenges.
10. Passion and motivation
When you are consistently working towards achieving a goal/cause, you will feel motivated to push your limits. This will lead you to explore great ideas and opportunities. During the process, you learn a lot and get to know success stories that inspire. So, when was the last time you felt passionate about a cause?
Consistency is the key to success
Our teachers have been saying this to us ever since we were kids. But, most of us are too busy enjoying moments of our childhood to take the thought seriously. It is only when you enter the adult world that you learn to value the importance of consistency. Consistency is really important.
Inspiration or motivation will not last long if you do not back it up with consistent efforts. For example, your recent appointment with the doctor inspires you to lose weight. This is good. But if you are not going to be consistent with your routine of exercise, that weight isn’t going anywhere.
For instance, when you take up a new project, you are excited. But, if you allow yourself to be demoralized by the short term failures, the excitement may fizzle out. And before you know it, you will lose the passion to pursue the project.
However, if you are consistent in your efforts and are willing to learn from your mistakes, you will see results in the long run. The idea is that being consistent in your efforts will help you understand what works and what does not. This, in turn, will fuel your passion. It will even motivate you to push deadlines while working.
Learning a skill is not the end of the road. If you want to succeed, you need to master this skill.
Only then will you be ahead of the rest. The simple trick to do so lies in developing the habit of consistency. Yes! If you are consistent in your approach, you will not hesitate to evolve. This process of evolution is all about adapting. It involves learning from the mistakes that you made or even the ones
that others may have made. These efforts will easily put you ahead of your peers. Before you know if you will be savoring the sweet fruits of success!
We all heard the famous story about the hare and the tortoise racing it to the finish line. The hare was smart, fast and had a lead. This made the poor animal over confident and it decided to take a break just before the finish line.
The tortoise on the other hand showed belief, rather a leap of faith in its abilities when it agreed to be a part of the race. Secondly, the tortoise remained consistent in its efforts to reach the finish line. It did not give up even when the hare was leading with a huge margin.
Ultimately, the tortoise’s consistency paid off and it won the race. Clearly, if you are consistent, no goal is impossible to achieve.
What makes consistency difficult?
Habits are never easy to develop. And consistency is no exception to this rule. The definition of consistency is extremely simple. It looks pretty easy. But, when you try to put it in practice, it can be quite challenging. Maintaining consistency is an essential thing for each and every one of us. However, most of us would have given it up at some point in our life. So, why does this happen?
Being consistent is not easy given the distractions that one is surrounded by. An individual is often not focused, committed or disciplined enough to work towards the long term goal. This is because there are just too many distractions-on the personal and professional front.
Most of us are so impatient that if the road to success takes time, many would rather just avoid the journey. It will be a long time before you savor the fruits of success. We look for instant gratification. This makes it difficult for one to keep patience and therefore develop consistency. We want quick results hence incremental progress does not matter.
Consistency is key in a relationship
What does consistency in a healthy relationship mean? This question is likely to pop in your head. Well, consistency in a relationship indicates dependability and predictability. For some this may sound boring. After all, one may wonder if a relationship becomes boring if every move is predictable. Well, an occasional break from the routine is good in any relationship. It kindles the connection positively. This is applicable in any relationship-romantic, family or even friendship.
But the one thing that any one looks for in a relationship is trust. You got to be there for your relationships. When you invest the effort and be there for them consistently, they will also have your back at all times. All this leads to one conclusion- if you want the relationship to succeed, you have to be consistent in your behaviors.
Let’s take a look at what your partner experiences when you choose to be consistent in your relationship. They feel:
Relaxed: The world may go against them but you will always have their back.
Secure: Consistency builds trust in relationships. This ensures that no partner is worried about losing the relationship due to the challenges that it is likely to face.
Loved: The concept of love extends beyond physical intimacy. Sometimes your partner needs to know that you care for them. Consistent behaviors in a relationship ensure that the partner feels loved always.
How to implement consistency in a romantic relationship?
Consistency is one of the most powerful tools when it comes to building or rebuilding trust in a relationship. So here is a look at five simple tricks to implement consistency in a relationship.
1. Express your love. Believe it or not, you need to express your love, every time you get a chance. Do not hesitate to tell your partner how special he / she is.
2. Kiss without reason. You do not need a reason to kiss the love of your life, do you? But the gesture is always helpful to make your partner feel special.
3. Be romantic and flirt with your partner, it is a good way to keep the spark alive.
4. Always hear your partner out. Sometimes they just need a shoulder to lean on.
5. Make random calls or drop messages during the day. This is a simple gesture to tell your partner that you are thinking about them.
Lack of consistency: Cause
We have talked about the importance of consistency and how it helps to become successful. But with so many things to distract us, being consistent is often a challenge. However, one of the key reasons why many of us fail to be consistent is that we are more worried about the outcome. We are obsessed with the result that we fail to focus on the process. The lack of focus on the process is what leads to the lack of consistency in our efforts.
10 Ways to deal with lack of consistency
Before we talk about ways to deal with consistency, it is important to understand that this is a habit that takes time to develop. You need to be patient and work towards it.
Here are 10 ways to help you deal with lack of consistency:
1. Value the present
Teach yourself to focus on the task at hand. Consciously stop the mind from wandering and worrying about the future. These are factors that you cannot change or control so its better to steer clear.
2. Be prepared to fail
Success is all about trying and never giving up. Similarly when you want to develop consistency, you will explore several ways. Some of these ways or methods may not lead to desired outcomes. But that is okay, it is important to continue working towards the goal.
3. Set small goals
You need to develop consistency for short term goals before it becomes a habit for the good. So set goals and make a plan.
4. Don’t wait for inspiration
Focus on the task and keep pushing yourself to do it even when you are uninspired. If you are consistent, inspiration will follow.
5. Don’t forget the basics
If you have repeatedly tried something but results are still not upto the mark, you need to go back and evaluate the basics. Do not give up on being consistent just because you don’t feel like it.
6. Hold yourself accountable
Remind yourself how your actions can impact others around you. This will help you stay consistent in your efforts to deliver; every time you take up a task.
7. Forgive and move
Do not blame yourself for the failures because each time you do this, you undermine your efforts and tend to lose faith in the importance of consistency. Instead, look at failures as learning curves and move on.
8. Find joy in whatever you do
You need to be happy when you are pursuing your goal. The positivity fuels your belief in consistency and teaches you to keep going.
9. Appreciate your new habits
Consistency is ultimately a habit, once you start developing it, you should implement it across your professional and personal spheres of life. If you try to pick and choose where to implement it, you will end up losing it.
10. Keep trying
Last but not the least, keep trying to become consistent in your approach. Consistent actions pay off. Anthony Robbins, an American author, coach, speaker, and philanthropist has also spoken about the importance of consistency in the long run.
How to stay consistent?
Here are 10 tips to stay consistent. These tips will help you inculcate consistency in your daily life.
1. Set reminders
Keep reminding yourself about your goals and the importance of being consistent.
2. Appreciate your efforts
Sometimes in spite of putting your best efforts, the results are not in your favor. But that’s okay, appreciate yourself for the hard work invested. Remember acknowledging makes you feel good and if you feel good you are likely to repeat the behavior.
3. Take feedback
Consistency does not give you the right to be arrogant. If something goes wrong, be willing to take the feedback and learn from it.
4. Rely on motivational tools / support
Sometimes we want to be consistent but lack the time period and the energy to invest the efforts. In such cases, it is absolutely okay to rely on external tools and continue to work towards the goal.
5. Give time
Consistency will not yield results overnight. You need to be patient and give it your best.
6. Set new goals
If you achieve something, celebrate and move on. Set new goals and build yourself a better life as you keep nurturing your habit to be consistent.
7. Seek professional help
Sometimes you may need to talk to a coach or a therapist to help you nurture your habit of being consistent. These therapies work wonders in motivating people.
8. Keep a schedule
Create realistic goals and maintain a schedule on when you plan to achieve them. Visit this schedule at regular intervals to remind yourself of the pending tasks at hand as well as the importance of being consistent.
9. Build your will
Will power can move mountains! If you intend to remain consistent, you will need to strengthen your willpower to move beyond the petty challenges. Remember that you need to be strong mentally and physically.
10. Eliminate the negative thoughts
Last but not the least, channelize your positive thoughts to convince your mind to be consistent. Here is a bonus tip, get rid of any negativity that is likely to pull you down.
Consistency is evolution
A common misconception about consistency is that it involves patiently repeating your efforts until you achieve the goals. Sadly, this is not entirely true. Instead, consistency is all about evolving. Yes! You need to be disciplined and willing to adapt in order to achieve your goal.
Always remember that mindlessly repeating an action will never lead to any positive outcomes. You need to learn and adapt to your mistakes. Implement these learnings to improve your efforts while pursuing your goals and the results will be in your favor!
TIP
You need to be patient to evaluate your efforts and consistency, in order to be able to grasp the learning.
Consistency is key Quotes
1. “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”
– Dwayne Johnson
2. “In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.”
– Roger Staubach
3. “Trust is built with consistency.”
– Lincoln Chafee
4. “Consistency is the hallmark of the unimaginative.”
― Oscar Wilde
5. “It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”
― Anthony Robbins
6. “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”
― E. James Rohn
7. “Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.”
― Bernard Berenson
8. “Like anything worth doing in life, happiness takes time and patience and consistency.”
– Mark Manson
9. “Part of courage is simple consistency.”
– Peggy Noonan
10. “Wealth is just consistency… I don’t want to be rich. I want to be wealthy.”
– Quavo
Parting thoughts from TheMindFool
Being consistent is hard to develop a habit. In fact, according to a survey, most people tend to take an average of 2 months to integrate any habit in their routine. Therefore, the road to integrating consistency as a habit is likely to be, long and tedious. But it is totally worth the effort you invest.
Each time you feel demotivated, look for examples in your daily life. Sure enough, you will find the motivation. So, take up the challenge and unlock the key to becoming successful, by developing the habit of consistency.
