Consistency

Hi! I’m back! Did you miss me? Probably not because I have only been here for a handful of newsletters. But I’m BACK. And I’m back with an important message for you and for me:

C O N S I S T E N C Y 

Ugh… consistency. Right? 

No matter what success book or article you read, there’s one recurring piece of advice: Be consistent.

This is something I have struggled with my entire life. I can be consistent for a specific amount of time, but long term consistency? That is NOT my strength. I get easily distracted and excited about the next project or creative idea that comes my way. 

And once I lose focus or momentum, it can be hard to find my way back. I also feel embarrassed about the visibility that can come with not being consistent. That’s why when people start a diet or some other program, they are encouraged to tell people in their lives to help them stay accountable. Or in other words, using peer pressure to stay consistent. 

But “falling off the wagon” of consistency is OK. It’s actually a good indicator of something being out of whack when consistency comes into question. 

According to consistency theory: 

Consistency is described as the “compatibility of many simultaneously transpiring mental processes” (Grawe, 2007, p.170), and is a systemic demand, on a neural level, for harmonious neural flow.  When the relationship between intrapsychic processes and states are harmonious, there is a state of consistency.

In other words, no matter how badly you want to be consistent with something, you’ll always struggle if:

• the task itself is out of harmony with your daily life
• something is out of harmony with what you actually want
• it’s just not realistic and that’s OK if it isn’t

Take this newsletter for example. I want to do this. I love the time I set aside to be introspective and write. But with life, work, and school, I found that adding another task to my “to do” list was making it difficult. 

So, I took steps to look at the potential disharmony in other areas of my life and finally created space for me to write. I also looked at how I mentally viewed writing this newsletter. Previously, it was a task to complete. But now, I’ve reminded myself it’s an activity that enriches my personal development. I made space and created internal harmony to commit to this.

This week, when you’re thinking about how to be 1% better, think about an area of your life where you want to be more consistent. Ask yourself why you want to be consistent with it? What will it contribute to your life? Is it even realistic within the day-to-day requirements of your life? And then take the steps you need to in order to support a harmonious integration of the task and you’ll be well on your way towards being more consistent.