The Power of Consistency Over Intensity For Success
If we think about life as a game, should it be played with more consistency or with more intensity?
If your answer was “consistently intense”, we like you very much, but that is not a legitimate answer. While this sounds great in theory, it’s a great way to burn out (trust us…we’ve tried).
Turns out, that’s how a lot of us approach our tasks (like our fitness and wellness objectives) more often than we think. We caffeinate, undersleep, over-produce, and “grind” until we can’t seem to remember what “content” feels like.
We sprint to the weekend, crash land, and then try and restart the following week from a weaker position. We also tend to do this on vacation (and come back more tired than when we left).
We treat every day like “gameday.” We want to sweat and “get crushed” in our workouts, we want to eat all the foods, put off the recovery work in place of another hard workout, and play just as hard as we work.
You’d be better served to operate at 65–75% each and every day, with meaningful breaks, to live to fight another day. Frequency also matters, especially in acquiring and committing new skills. Take running for example; one 18-mile run on Saturday is probably less effective than running three miles, six days a week.
We must separate how we go about “training” and how we go about approaching big moments. Of course, there are times when we need to apply intensity. If an Olympic runner doesn’t push to their max potential during the 100m dash final, they’ll lose. If you don’t run 26.2 miles on marathon race day, you won’t finish. Sometimes work (and life) demand we go the extra mile to finish projects, seize unique opportunities, or show up in tough moments.
But that’s not most of the time. We convince ourselves every workout and every meal and every day of work has to be perfect, when in reality we need to show up consistently, over time, which will lead to sustainable results.
If the Hare had just run a little slower and didn’t need to nap, he would have destroyed the Tortoise in the race. The higher your potential, the higher your average level of consistency output…75% of a lot is still a lot.
Our advice? Go fast, with purpose and a plan. Be consistent, more often than not. Commit to the long, sustainable process over time instead of the flashy get rich quick scheme.
The “best day ever” is repeatable because it’s consistent.
by Live Better
