We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day.
Whether you are leading one person, a small team, or a large organization consistency is essential for you to have sustained, long-term success. The consistency of your temperament, your performance, and communication is a must. Leadership requires that you are steady, stable, and engaged. Life is naturally volatile for reasons that are both in your control and out of your control. The Law of Attraction is strong when you are stable and consistent.
So, if being consistent is something that we all desire, an attribute that we all want to attain then why don’t we see people more consistent in their lives? Why do we see so many talented and gifted individuals quit when they are so close to accomplishing so much? I hope by the end of this article you will find one thing that you can do better to be more consistent and disciplined towards accomplishing your goals.
Will Power: For me personally, I have the most will power in the morning. I learned years ago that when setting my goals, it was essential for me to fit the right disciplines into my morning routine. My greatest spiritual, emotional, and physical transformations have stemmed from starting my day doing the things necessary to create the right habits. Remember, when you begin this process it is very easy to get so focused on this one discipline or action that leads you to your goal that you change your whole world so it revolves around it. This would then require multiple changes and unnecessary stress when by fitting that one thing into your life increases the probability. I love how Steven Covey puts it:
Don’t prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities
The Critic: Tune out the critic, and that means you. You inevitably will have the voice that creeps in saying, “I don’t feel like it,” or “I don’t have the energy to do this right now,” or “I’m tired, stressed, and deserve a day off.” Expect that critic to show up, be prepared, and ignore it!
The Trap: I have quit far too often in my lifetime when I was on the brink of success, even if it was small. The expectation that I always required of myself was perfection: “If I want to look like that then I need to be prepared to meal prep, spend 2 hours a day in the gym, fix my diet, etc.” The moment I had a bowl of ice-cream the critic came out telling me, “Well, you have already failed, so you might as well have another bowl!” AVOID this trap! There will be days that you miss your discipline, and when you do, make sure you jump back into it the next day. If there are several days that go by where you miss, then asses the time you have scheduled and make sure you have planned it for the right time. The key: don’t stop, no matter what, stay consistent so you can build the discipline into your lifestyle.
The Why: Keep your eye on your why! In order to push through the times where you want to give up you have to have a clear, compelling vision for what your trying to achieve and know why you want to do it.
Build a support system into your goals. This will help create the consistency until the goal, habit or discipline is habitual. This could be setting your alarm on your phone to remind you a few times a day of your goals. It could be accountability partners, printed out messages that are strategically placed in your home or office, etc.
Before you can lead a team, department, or organization you have to learn to lead yourself. People are always looking for someone to follow, to lead them, to grow them. The more validation you can show with a track record the quicker you can build and grow those that are following you. You can’t establish a track record if you are constantly shifting gears or trying new tactics. Many efforts fail before they get to the finish line, but not because the tactic was flawed or goals weren’t clear. The problem is often it is you didn’t stay the course long enough to achieve the objective.
If we are what we repeatedly do than our consistency in life is crucial for our success. Remember, people do what they see, not what they hear!
2 comments
I just read your article Jarom and it is perfect timing!!! Lots of stressors in my life are bringing out the Critic. Thank you for your words of advise my friend.
Thank you Jarom, I have taken notes, so I can work on myself with more clarity.. So far I have been consistently working on the best way to communicate how to live a healthy happy life in harmony with each other and our environment using the abundance of natural healing from plants,. what is missing for me is support, and it has been disappointing and at times tragic. I’m so happy that Zija has com into my life. My mother told me we need a system to succeed ,Anne