“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” ― Jim Rohn
Recently while reading some comments from my old blogs, I came across one that caught my eyes – The comment was commending for my consistency in writing. Hmm.. I thought to myself. “Yes, I was consistent then, but what about now?” I wish I could say I have remained consistent.
How consistent have you been with your basic fundamentals? And what are your basic fundamentals that will result in your success? In the past few days, I have asked myself – “why am I not as consistent as I would like to be in some areas?” I am consistent in a lot of areas – my daily spiritual disciplines, sleep, eat, bath, work etc. But there are areas that I want to be consistent in that remains a work in progress.
I took some time to research and find out why I am not consistent in these areas and what I can do to be more consistent.
Being consistent according to Cambridge Dictionary means the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way.
It means constant, stable – not up today and down tomorrow… It is easier to be consistent with some activities e.g. you go to work every day because you are compelled to do so, you have a contract and you want to get paid at the end of the month. It is more challenging with some activities that are voluntary, or optional but know it is essential to your success e.g. control your weight, become fitter, save money, grow your network etc. There is no compulsion to engage in these activities. You however have a strong desire to be on top of it but often times lack the will power to stay with it.
From my research, these are some of the ways to help you become more consistent:
- Don’t forget your Why – This is knowing why you are doing what you are doing. For example, you are controlling your weight, because you want to remain healthy till an old age. You are growing your network to increase your influence and get a better job or contract. Your why must always be in front of you. When it is not, you forget the reason why you should say No to bowl of fried chicken, or a big slice of cake that has just been offered to you.
- Pick your battle – Research has shown that our brains have limited capacity to work on will power and discipline. It is therefore important to choose no more than 1-2 activities that you are working on mastering. It is extremely difficult to exercise your willpower on too many things at the same time. You are more successful if you pick an activity e.g. control your weight, master the habit, that it becomes second nature to me before you go on to a next project – example, intentionally growing my network.
- Schedule It – The late Steven Covey in one of his quotes said – “Don’t prioritize your schedule, rather schedule your priorities”. What does not get scheduled hardly gets done. By not scheduling this activity, you are leaving things to chance – it may or may not happen. I realized that I scheduled my writing time in my head, and so when I was planning my calendar, often times I forget that I have blocked out my writing on Wednesday mornings. It however becomes a non-negotiable event when you schedule for you will be in the gym or take a walk from 6-7 am, three times a week.
- Ignore your feelings – At times your feelings come alive and express its disapproval at your actions – and tell you, “I don’t feel like going out to exercise. I am feeling cold, or too sleepy”. This is when you give yourself a command to get out of bed, whether you feel like it or not.
- Make a mental imagery – I discovered that mental imagery is perhaps the most powerful mental tool for creating consistency in great athletic performances. Consistent use of imagery, in which you see and feel yourself performing consistently well, ingrains the images and feelings associated with that goal. To enable me write more consistently, I am now making a mental imagery of compiling my emails into a lovely book. Will that not be great?
How consistent are you in performing what you believe your basic fundamentals are? If you are, what is the one thing that helps you remain so consistent?