Be consistent…constantly
These days there is an app for everything. There are apps that monitor our food intake, provide recipes, track our step count, and create a tailor-made exercise plan. We can find apps with daily kid’s activities, life hacks, learning programs, language acquisition apps and hairstyle apps. I mean, you name it, and someone has designed it. So these creatively advertised apps that are supposed to help us better ourselves and attain goals we didn’t even know we had, are super sneaky with their in-app purchases that lure us with this bait, and more often than not, we get hooked.
But alas, how many of us can confirm that the joy we expect to receive from this ideal created by some kid in China is short-lived. Why? Because life has carefully trained us to be hungry for instant gratification and is slowly trying to phase out the concept of consistency.
When we lack consistency, we fail to pull through on an assigned task we have set out for ourselves, we become demotivated, which could spiral out of control and result in depression. Now you could say I’m being dramatic, but perhaps that is the only way to point out what the aftermath of inconsistency is. Again and again, that feeling of hopelessness has pierced me when I have managed to complete just about nothing that I started. Now I’m swimming in debt, overweight and slightly more miserable than yesterday.
The truth is – and I know you don’t want to hear it – that consistency is the only path that will lead to a more fulfilled life. We can never have it all figured out but starting small is still a start.
So now that we’ve established that at least half of us have downloaded an app with great expectations only to deliver disappointment, let’s look at the other side of this issue.
What if we had had an app that can track and document our mental well-being and state of health? Just tap the screen, and voila… like how awesome would that be? Most psychologists will be out of work by Monday, but they won’t because an app for consistency doesn’t exist, people! We need to recalibrate our brains (that organ behind all the creation of those fantastic apps) to understand that only with a certain level of consistency in our lives can we really achieve our goals, no matter how big or small. These goals may be financial or physical, or emotional; whatever they are, however personal, you will not be able to run a marathon if you don’t put in the time to exercise daily. Ok, fine, not all of us want to run a marathon, I sure don’t, but I am convinced that every one of us has one goal that we would ultimately like to achieve, no matter how small. I have found that the key to success is not really complicated; it only requires a certain (attainable) amount of patience that can, in turn, lead to – wait for it – consistency!
Think of it this way:
- Don’t rush it; it’s not going anywhere; being consistent is a way of life. It can’t be stolen, so there is no need to place unnecessary pressure on yourself. Don’t rush it.
- Start small – very small. That’s it. Nothing more to say here! Start. Small.
- Treat every day for what it is: a new day. Not based on yesterday’s failures. Failure is inevitable. We are human, but if we choose to stand up and continue what we started, consistency becomes real, and the fear of failing is slowly diminished.
- Be proud of yourself when you achieve a milestone regardless of what others think. I mean, who cares what others think anyway, right?
- Remind yourself why you are doing this. No matter how insignificant you might think it is, it is NOT if it aids in leading a fulfilled life of being consistent.
- Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Just get a grasp of the larger scope of things to rattle you into realising that there is method in this madness. Your perseverance will pay off.