Fred Swaniker said, "Of all the hard things we have to do daily, the most difficult one is to keep going". No truer words have ever been said. Trust me, I would know.
Unfortunately or Fortunately (depending on the generation you were born in), most things that get us ahead in life are not "pieces of cake".
You will only move ahead of others and achieve your goals in today's competitive world by remaining consistent while leveraging your skills and knowledge.
Remaining consistent allows you to harness your skills to produce value.
Most people fixate on the outcome, hardly considering the process involved in reaching our goals.
We pick up a new habit or hobby because we want to better ourselves but start reducing the hours we invest or completely stop when any challenge occurs.
I saw somewhere that "The only thing we can commit to as humans is starting something." - I was triggered.
We have all heard more times than a cock crow that "Consistency is Key."
Why is it Key, and What doors is it opening?
The new year has begun, and we have set our resolutions. Let's start our Sharp Times year by discussing how we can be consistent.
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12-12-2022
Making lasting improvements in whatever field we find ourselves in or goals we set requires consistency.
Everything gets easier the more you do it, and once it becomes a habit, it is hard to break.
I wake up at 4 am on weekdays even without the help of the aggravating sound of my alarm. It took me a while to adjust, but once I did, I couldn't physically bring myself to sleep past 4 am.
Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time
Most of the time, we have tunnel vision when it comes to our goals, so we set the bar too high for ourselves.
For instance- it's the first of January, and you are determined to become Zeus-like by the end of the year; you go to the gym for the first time in years, and you start by lifting 50 kg weights. At the end of your session, your muscles feel like jelly, and you have no will to come back until the pains have subsided; then, you go again after one week and repeat the cycle. The best thing to do for ourselves when it comes to consistency is to get better with time and practice. Just don't attempt to accomplish it all at once.
First, we need to identify why we want to achieve our goal, set smaller daily goals that will help achieve the final goal, and then remain true to the process.
Refrain from relying wholly on motivation - Motivation is good enough to get us started, but we are not always going to be motivated to do something. If you rely absolutely on motivation, the goal gets thrown to the wolves once you lose it.
Celebrate the small wins- Goals are not achieved overnight, don't be discouraged if, after two days in the gym, your beer belly looks even bigger to you than when you started. Celebrate that your face looks a bit thinner today; the next day, celebrate that your favourite jeans fit a little better. Habits take time to build, keep yourself consistent by patting yourself on the back for incremental improvement.
Don't focus too much on how you feel because "I don't feel like it today" sounds to me like a sure way to lose sight of your goal. Granted, sometimes we are genuinely tired and can't bring ourselves to work on our goal, but when you think it is something you can do, Push yourself a little bit to do it.
Please don't be too hard on yourself; sometimes you might miss a day; it's okay; life gets in the way sometimes but try not to miss two days in a row.
Have fun doing it- Find pleasure points in the process and hone in on them. Focus on the fun parts, anticipate the "non-fun" elements, and psych yourself to jump the hurdles.
As that popular phrase says, "Rome was not built in a day"- Keep your streak burning. Some apps could help keep you consistent by tracking your daily commitment. Most importantly, take it one day at a time.
Be patient. It will take time to see results- Consistency is key.
I will leave you with a part of a poem by TH Palmer that my younger brother recited at school some years ago. It stuck with me - ".......If you persevere, you will conquer, never fear....."
"If at first you don't succeed, then your courage should appear. If you persevere, you will conquer, never fear, try again."
12.Dec.22 by Jessie W Ghartey
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27.Oct.22 by Jessie W Ghartey
* we won't spam you, never.
12-12-2022
Victoria
Good read . Thank you
2023-03-15 19:22:03