In this modern day era of key words and SEO, it seems that there is a plethora of buzzwords that are used to define success. Examples include: intensity, power, explosive, fast, transformation, motivation, etc. However, the one word that I think overrides all of these is: CONSISTENCY.
What??? But there is nothing amazing or jaw dropping about being consistent? You say “I have a neighbor (let’s call him Bob) who goes to a desk job at work everyday, 8 to 5, comes home, watches the same TV shows and on the weekend, his excitement consists of going to the store and eating as many free samples as possible”. Agreed, there is nothing sexy about that at all for sure. How about instead you have a friend (let’s call her Vivienne) who got on a health kick the beginning of the year, lost 50lbs, started selling some sort of fabric you put around your head that is supposed to make you brilliant and is now doubled her income? Now that is transformation AND motivation! Heck, I would throw in intensity and explosive too just because I can!!
Okay, I get it, the first example doesn’t light anything up and the second one lights off more fireworks than the fourth of July in a baseball park. However, we’re looking for LONG TERM success. Anyone can look shiny for a day or make an impact over a short period of time, but what happens down the road is what is remembered.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for short term victories and in fact, the way I put together action plans, they are necessary. However, big picture, the goal should be consistency for the long haul. First, when aiming for one’s ‘WHY’, this is by definition a HUGE goal and reach that should take some significant time (if not, probably not reaching far/high enough). To accomplish these, one needs to do small things EVERYDAY in order to maintain progress to that one BIG THING.
Let’s go back to the two examples above. Bob on the surface isn’t exciting. One would look at him and say that he isn’t driven and is content with mediocracy. However, underneath that is someone who has continually performed in their job for the past 15 years, has doubled his income, is up for additional promotions, has a large retirement set up, is very healthy due to managed stress levels (and consistent exercise over the lunch hour) and has a happy family life. Vivienne on the other hand is a huge overnight success and in one year looks to have made it. However, the following year, she gained back half of what she lost, the money she earned ended up getting blown on things that now collect dust (or will need to be sold later), the people she interacted with for her head/brain wraps no longer want to associate with her and she is back to her old routine and habits, looking for the next big thing.
Two more practical examples. Someone works their butt off to put together an amazing presentation at work. This project shines and turns the bosses heads. However, when recognized and given additional tasks, the daily routine things falls through the cracks and long term, they fail. Another example is the person who eats mega healthy Monday thru Thursday, however, they completely blow in Friday thru Sunday, then they try to figure out why they aren’t progressing.
The reason I wrote this is that back in 1992, I decided that I wanted to become a bodybuilder. At the time I literally weight 95lbs, was a sickly kid and far from strong. When I asked a friend what it took to do it, he gave me the sage advice “consistency”. Little did I know, years later, not only would that pay off in the world of bodybuilding but that in many other areas of life. That all said, there are people that have and will achieve WAY more than me in many different endeavors. However, if you look at what makes those individuals successful, I will bet you find this common thread: CONSISTENCY.