Over the years whenever I'm trying to achieve something or trying to hit a goal, I found myself being nonchalant about it on a long run and I realized that this bad habit worth working on.
Most times when we're about to go into a new month or year, we start making promises and plans for ourselves like; I'm gonna quit smoking and drinking this year, I'm gonna start focusing on work so much, I'm gonna start focusing on worshipping God this time, I'm gonna take my academic seriously and we may do this for weeks and then the curve starts to decline because by default we start to forget that we've made those promises and this is happening because human beings mind is something that easily flips and we human beings shares the same root as the word "forgetful".
We all know that consistency is the key for efficiency and we've heard one of the most popular quote that says "Practice makes perfection". It's so disheartening that after knowing all off this, many of us are still battling with inconsistency. Have you ever thought of the reason behind this, it's a big question we all have to think about and ponder seriously.
WHY ARE WE INCONSISTENT?
We have few reasons why people are consistently inconsistent which are;
NOT HAVING A GOAL/TARGET
One of the crucial elements that needs to be considered with respect to consistency is having a target. In point of fact, I'd say it's the building block of consistency and that's because we all know that for everything we do in life, we all have reasons for doing them and of course this reason will somewhat be the fuel that keeps pushing you on that particular thing, take for example someone who wants to register at the gym will have a reason of why he/she wants to start working out which can be because he/she wants to loose fat, he/she wants to build up muscles, he/she just basically wants to be physically fit. These reasons will always be the catalysts to prompts the workout session. However, if we have failed in this aspect of consistency then all other aspect will definitely crumble.
TOO MUCH OF ANTICIPATION
Well, it's a very good thing to give good anticipation when it comes to goal achievement but in most cases it doesn't work so well because when we anticipate too much we by default tend to focus on the outcome rather than the process. This is not to imply that outcome is to be ignored while trying to make an achievement. But in essence, when you've compelled yourself to achieve something that has to do with much hard working and enough dedication it's always best not to anticipate too much about the outcome and just basically enjoy the process.
MAKING EXCUSES
This is also an important aspect to talk about cause sometimes we like to play smart with our minds and we tend to trick it by making excuses in other to console ourself of not doing what we're supposed to do for example; someone who claimed to love working out would keep making excuses like "the gym is far from my home, but I'd start working out when I set my own gym cause I'm not really a fan of home workout". People make this kinds of excuses on a daily basis to keep convincing themselves of why they aren't doing what they are supposed to do which gives a big setback when trying to get a goal
Those are the major factors affecting consistency. And that being said, how do we correct inconsistency
This is basically picking out one task which you know you'd like to work on which has more of importance while you forgo the others for the meantime. While we are trying to be consistent, we have to understand the concept behind scale of preference and the reason behind this is that when we aren't specified about what we're about to do or achieve, we tend to confuse ourselves of what we really what which will in turn cause distraction and of course inconsistency will follow cause they work in pair. However, picking one thing as your preferred option makes you know what you want and automatically narrows down your goal
Here's also a good tip to also take into consideration because knowing and having your "why" is basically knowing why you're into what you're into. This aspect makes you strive and keeps you on the track as long as your "why" hasn't broken yet cause sometimes we love to do something for some reasons and we end up loosing interest when we can't find the reason no more. So in addition, keep your WHY safe
3. PLANS/SCHEDULING
Making plans or schedules also helps a lot when you're working towards being consistent because we tend to loose focus whenever we're doing something without a plan. For most of us who are lovers of football, we all know what it means to have a game plan and that's why in most cases when a teams is loosing, we channel all our blames to the coach simply because he's in charge of the plan. The replica of what's happening on the football pitch is happening in our daily lives too whenever we're working without a plan. This basically implies that structuring your time and schedule to a time when you have no excuses not to do your task is the best form of planning and there's a quote by Steven Covey that says "Don't priotize your schedule, but rather schedule your priorities".
4. ACCOUNTABILITY
This is simply the state taking or accepting responsibilities for your actions, this is also related to subordination. For those of us who has a job and are not the boss should understand the issue of accountability and for those of us who work on a job and are the bosses should also understand the meaning of subordination. Why is this related to consistency. Study has made us understand that when people are accountable to someone, they tend to work as expected. However, it's always a good idea when you choose someone as your accountability partner like spouse,friend,brother/sister,mum/dad. This people will serve as the force that keeps you moving because whenever you're not doing what you're meant to do, you have these people to remind you and also check on your process and progress. This aspect also bring support from your partner whenever you're about to make a mistake or when you're facing facing an obstacle, hence helping you in all ramifications aside from consistency.
5. CREATE NETWORK
This is also part of the amazing steps that helps people as far as consistency is concerned. Creating a network is basically sorting for people around you who are also trying to achieve the same goal or target thereby forming a group where you're all keeping tabs on each other which by default will prompt your consistency to an higher level.
6. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ERRORS/MISTAKES
Over time human beings have this amazing tricky capabilities of not wanting to accept mistakes and this is why it's so easy for them to follow and imitate people because you always think you are not responsible for the mistake, you have to blame somebody else by. This is also a crucial aspect to take care of because it will unknowingly give us self discipline
In conclusion, I hope we all find these amazing tips of getting rid of inconsistency helpful. I believe that taking notes of these steps will definitely make us to be consistently consistent.
