
The Three “As” Of Consistency
It’s the #1 thing holding you back from actually reaching your goals.
Consistency consistency consistency. If you’re a regular on this blog and my social media you know I use this word and concept a lot.
Thing is, being consistent can be hard, people! When we live in a society that tells us to always do more and run ourselves into the ground, maintaining even the simplest habits can be a challenge.
If you tend to think similarly to me, then you’re in for a ride. Because you see, I used to view failure as me not being consistent enough. I used to beat my self up over it and essentially view any missed step as a new starting point. As if each failure/mistake meant I wasn’t being consistent.
Yet failure is part of the journey. It’s actually a necessary ingredient in the recipe that makes up your success formula.
If you are failing, that means you’re consistently trying. You’re finding new ways that don’t work, ultimately bringing you closer to what will. Yay you!
That being said, it’s easy to let failure keep us down. To give into it and not know what step to take next. Below, I outline some simple steps that I use to help me rise strong and get back to getting shit done.
Act
If you don’t do shit, you’ll never know if it works. So yes, the first (albeit obvious) step is to take action. Have a clear road map of what you need to do, then go out and do it.
Write down one goal (yes, only one you sneaky overachiever you) you’re going to focus on for this next month. Then break it down into weekly and daily behaviors.
For example, if my goal is to increase my deadlift by 10# by the end of November (notice how the goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) my weekly actions would look like this: train 3–4x a week and increase the weight I’m lifting by 2.5–5% every week. Broken down further into daily actionable steps, my focus would be on sleeping 7–8 hours, eating 3–4 balanced meals, and moving every day.
We often spend so much time daydreaming and planning in our heads, but life is lived in action. So go out there and give it all you’ve got.
Yes, you will fail. Good, it means you’re trying.
Assess
After you’ve taken action consistently (duh), you can assess that plan’s been going. Post 2–4 weeks of taking action, refer back to your goal and weekly/daily breakdown. Take a hard and objective look at your performance.
Have you been acting in line with your goals and priorities? Did you follow through with your weekly and daily actionable steps? Are you doing the things you said you would do?
Be honest with yourself. Yet don’t beat yourself up over it. Be objective and be compassionate. Remember, failing is part of the process. If you’re failing, it means you’re trying.
It can also be extremely helpful to have a trustworthy friend give you objective feedback. Honest and constructive criticism can be super helpful as it gives you a different lens to see your journey through. And, chances are, if you’re here your own lens isn’t totally unbiased.
Adjust
The final step is to adjust based on your assessment. What lessons did you learn based on your successes and failures? Take note of what worked and what didn’t work. Write down how you can prevent unhelpful things from happening in the future and how you can set up systems in place to help you be more consistent. Choose one thing to change and focus on for the next 2–4 weeks. For most of us, this will look like simplifying. Getting rid of steps. Stripping it down to the essentials.
Over and Over Again
Wash, rinse, and repeat.
After acting, assessing, and adjusting: write down your new and improved goal once again, break it down into weekly and daily actionable steps and go after it. Every 2–4 weeks, look at back at your plan and assess how things are going. Make one small and strategic adjustment where needed the most.
In case you haven’t caught the drift yet, this takes time -like most things worth building.
Act, assess, adjust.
Over and over and over.
Be the scientist of your own life and choose to see failure as a learning opportunity.
This is how you become consistent.

