Consistency

Sea view of Kuliatan Marine Sanctuary, San Joaquin, Iloilo, Philippines 📸: Almie Jane

“Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don’t be afraid to stand firm on the decisions that you make. Trust yourself. Believe in your instincts. Do what works best for YOU. Stay true to yourself and be good to yourself. Allow every decision that you make to empower, enrich, and add value to your life!”

-Stephanie Lahart
Throughout my student life in the University, I have strived hard to stay consistent about consistency. It is a promise which spells dependability and longevity to sustain peak performance. Everyday, I’ve always see to it to organize my schedule and simply follow it. I tried to practice on replicating positive behaviour each workload day after day. I’ve been juggling different parts of my life using the power of consistency- relationships, studies, univ activities, and of course, my well-being as a person.

“Self-care is so important, particularly if there are others depending on you, and a regular and consistent routine is an essential part of that care.”

-Christina Passarella
Because I believe that even the best plans will fail without a dedication to consistency.

There will always be obstacles along the way that challenge you while leaving you no choice but to push through the limits. In the face of strong resistance, it is best to always stand up for what you believe in. But what does it take to be consistent ourselves?

According to Michal Kornozek in his blog on Minimalist Journaling: A Fun and Effective Tool for Tremendous Habit Change l,

“Consistency has always been a challenge for me. Despite defining clear goals for myself, I have always struggled to create the habits that would lead me to fulfill them. I had the motivation and time, yet I would consistently fail somewhere around day 10. Failure kept leaving me angry and frustrated, and compounded into a disbelief in my ability to succeed… “

-Michal Korzonek
I have learned that this has something to do with standards-you must enforce compliance to a set of standards. Well, as for me, everybody has their own standard of living and it depends whether a person is dedicated enough or not. Practicing consistency isn’t as easy as it seems to be. It needs to undergo a process to make it a habit by identifying the main points.

You need to make specific and realistic goals [1]. By creating your personal schedule is an important step to keep you on track [2]. Sometimes, it is easy to forget new goals, habits, commitments, or promises, especially when we make them to ourselves. To remind yourself throughout the day, put messages to yourself in visible areas [3]. Never forget to make promises only if you can keep them. It is easy to get overwhelmed, however, if you make too many promises. If you think a request may be difficult to do, say no [4]. Take some time to also reward yourself when you get something done. Even small goals deserve small rewards to help keep you motivated throughout the process [5].

You have to be ready to challenge yourself do better everyday. Know what to prioritize for a greater purpose. There will always be people who break the rules or grease the wheels to earn an unfair advantage for themselves.

But you need to keep going if you make a mistake. Plan for potential failure, and don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake along the way [6]. Consistency doesn’t mean that you are working all of the time. So take time off to recharge [7]. Use motivational tools to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. Try to find new sources of motivation if you’re feeling down or lazy [8]. Always, always hold yourself accountable. To be consistent means you have to make sure that you recognize when you don’t reach the standards and goals that you’ve set [9].

Changing your thinking is a great help to implement a leap to consistency.

You need to give yourself time to see changes [10]. Set boundaries for your commitments and personal relationships [11]. Most importantly, build your willpower to achieve goals [12]. In order to manifest these things, you have to eliminate negative thinking turn them around or introduce a more positive or neutral thought. So for example if you find yourself thinking “I can’t do this,” turn it around and think, “I’m going to practice doing this, even if I’m not great at it to start with [13].”

I believe that by being consistent pays off in the long run. Just like hard work, consistency can become a person’s strength towards success. This require optimism and productiveness throughout the process. Start with setting for small goals, and when you achieve them, you’ll be more confident to aim for bigger goals.

References:

Passarella, Christina (2018). The Life-Changing Power of Consistency

Korzonek, Michal (2018). Minimalist Journaling: A Fun and Effective Tool for Tremendous Habit Change

1.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/notes-self/201308/how-set-goals

2.https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/291912

3.https://www.positivityblog.com/how-to-improve-your-consistency/

4.http://changingminds.org/techniques/how_to/trust_me/keep_promises.htm

5.https://www.inc.com/chris-dessi/10-simple-ways-to-motivate-yourself-every-day.html

6.http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234325

7.https://www.inc.com/chris-dessi/10-simple-ways-to-motivate-yourself-every-day.html

8.https://www.inc.com/chris-dessi/10-simple-ways-to-motivate-yourself-every-day.html

9.http://www.inc.com/eric-v-holtzclaw/consistency-power-success-rules.html