The Power of Consistency
According to the Ohio State Fisher College of Business, only 9% of people stick to their new year's resolutions. (Batts, 2023). To me, that is shockingly low. Before I dive into why I believe that is and some practical solutions to fix it, I want to define what I believe consistency actually means.
To be consistent means to dedicate yourself to your goals and commit to taking action every day, regardless of if you want to at that moment or not.
I strongly believe there is a misconception between being “motivated” and being “consistent”. Sticking to the topic of the “new year new me” attitude, that mindset is formed through a surge of motivation. It is a brand new year, so what better time to change everything about yourself? Right? Wrong. To change yourself means to build habits. Consistent habits. Habits that according to the National Institute of Health, take around 10 weeks to be created. (Gardner, 2012). That surge of motivation to “reinvent” yourself comes with multiple new habits being implemented at the same time. When you use motivation over consistency you will reach burnout. Motivation does not and will not ever last for an extended period of time. You have to use that motivation to create a realistic plan that you can stick with long-term.
Let me paint a picture for you that is a reality for many of us. (Me included) You just got a membership at a new gym. You downloaded a workout program from your favorite influencer and your first week goes amazing. Great feeling right? Then one day you wake up a little too late. Missed your new goal of a 5am wakeup. Shoot, now you have to rush to make it to work on time. But before that you have to make your overly fancy breakfast, drink your gallon of water, read your book, workout, meditate, complete the next page of your new devotional, the list goes on. Just by reading my run-on sentence, can you see how that’s too much to just start doing all at once? In a society that preaches hustle culture and six pack abs, our lives become that run-on sentence and it is physically and mentally impossible to be consistent without repercussions.
How to Cultivate Consistency
Now how does one become consistent? The first step is setting clear and realistic goals. Create a system that allows you to achieve those goals one day at a time. Those systems can be simple like waking up and doing ten push ups. Those ten push ups can quickly turn into twenty, fifty, and eventually one hundred. But, if you started at one hundred without having the habit of ten, it is nearly impossible to get your brain used to the task at hand and build the habit. Start small, allow your brain to develop new neural connections overtime, then go bigger. Doing this allows you to focus on small wins which will compound day after day until you grow and eventually reach your goal. “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” - Admiral William H. McRaven - US Navy
After figuring out what your goal is and the steps you must take to reach it, it can be very beneficial to track your progress. May that be in a journal, a habit tracking app, or anything else that works for you, it will allow you to look back and see what works, what doesn’t, and how to get better.
Takeaway
Consistency is hard. There is no doubt that self improvement, faith, creating a business, or anything else that requires an immense amount of focus is hard. That is why you need to create a system that works for you, not what social media tells you that you need to be doing. I want to challenge all of you to create one small habit and let it grow. If you want to get started in the gym, I challenge you to start by doing 10 pushups every day upon waking and before your head hits your pillow. If you want to improve your diet, I challenge you to remove one item of food such as soda or potato chips. Start small. Eventually you will win big.
