Forced Consistency

One of my goals — and I hesitate to tell you this — is to write a post every day here on Medium for one year.

I’ve tried this many times before but failed. Not only did I try with writing, but I tried with other areas of my life, like getting back into shape.

You can’t keep doing things the same way and expect different results. That only leads to getting the same of what you’ve been getting, along with much frustration.

When you first start off, you’ll face a struggle of the will. It’s going to take a lot of perseverance and power to break through that initial barrier.

Your goal is to create a habit by any means without hurting yourself of negatively impacting others.

Guess what?

I almost procrastinated today. Friday night is craft beer night here in the office. If someone offers me a brew, then I almost always take it without further thought or objection (so weak, I know). My will power breaks down at this point and I give in to drinking the beverage. It starts at one and then ends up as many.

Yeah, I know. I have a problem.

I accept full responsibility.

One of the ways I believe I can avoid this is to create “roadblocks” to divert me away from the familiar path I often find myself walking down.

One roadblock I thought of was a motivational bank. This would be a repository of motivational videos from speakers or individuals that I respect and feel a connection to. So every day at a set time, I will pick one of the videos and watch it.

Additionally, any time I find myself feeling weak and ready to give up on my commitment or feel like skipping, I’d pick a random video from the bank, watch it, then get my mind back on track.

I’m hoping that this will help me keep pushing through when the hard time roll through.

Establish the habit.

Force yourself to be consistent.

Yes, it’s uncomfortable — but once you get to the point of habitual behavior, it gets easier.