Struggling With Consistency? Follow These Steps
Ask any successful individual what their mantra is — they’d probably tell you that it’s a mix of hard work, dedication, and most commonly — consistency.
“Consistency is one of those ingredients in the secret sauce of success that most of us aspire for.”
It’s the one skill that will help achieve your goals, irrespective of the circumstances you face. However, it’s easier said than done. Take our New Years’ Resolutions for instance — most of us think about losing that belly flab or picking up a new hobby, happily forgetting about it a few weeks into the year, only to be remembered on the next New Year’s Eve. We’re here to tell you that consistency is not a pot of gold that’s out of your reach. All it needs is patience, and a willingness to stick to your journey.
Here are five effective and easy ways you can break your cycle of inconsistency and ace all your goals — no matter how small or big they are.
1. Set your Intention
Author of the famous ‘Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ — Mark Manson wrote a simple yet impactful thought in his work — most of us want to become rich and famous rock stars or actors, but few of us actually go after the prize and achieve it. What was missing for the rest of us? Nothing, but a lack of intention. The rest of us simply didn’t want fame or wealth so badly. The intention is one of the founding stones for any of your goals. If you’d like to lose weight, state why you’d like to do so. Maybe you want to be lighter on your feet or get a better hold of your fitness. When you waver from your goal, which most of us invariably do, your intention will serve as the lighthouse to help get you back on track.
2. Think Big, But Start Small
The magnitude of our goals is entirely dependent on us. However, extremely lofty goals are likely to demotivate you faster than you think. Commonly, our mind perceives a big goal as something that cannot be achieved, and hence it doesn’t make any efforts in planning for it either. An effective way to navigate this is to break it down into bite-sized tasks that are easy to check off your to-do list, it’s much easier to be naturally motivated to keep going. The satisfaction of making progress is an inherent motivator to keep going, no matter how small your progress is. Have your big goals, but always keep your eyes on the next small step you need to achieve to go forward.
3. Stay In Your Comfort Zone
You read that right. This would probably go completely against traditional advice to step outside of your comfort zone to achieve your goals. We have a counter-intuitive approach to this. When we say ‘Stay in Your Comfort Zone’ it doesn’t mean you should curl up in bed and binge-watch Netflix for hours. It means you are encouraged to pick activities that you both enjoy and are comfortable with. A lot of factors, including anxiety upon trying something new or fear of failure play a big role in getting you off-track. When you pick activities that are easy and comfortable for you to do, you are much likely to stick to the process. Once you find yourself being consistent with your current activities, try amping it up and push yourself to do more. Remember, the key is to do something regularly — not more, not less.
4. Set a Tracker
Have a structure for how you want to track your progress. This could range from having an app on your mobile, jotting details down in a planner, or even having a progress buddy who can motivate you. Set a framework that works for you.
“ We recommend using the OKRs framework to achieve your goals easily”.
If your goal is to improve your mental health — a therapist is a structure you could put in place to help track your progress. Not only does this create a safe space, but is a regular reminder of how far you have come since we tend to lose sight of all our achievements in pursuit of our big dreams.
5. Take Breaks When Necessary
Whenever you’re tired of being on the journey and want to give up, consider taking a break instead. Regroup, remember your intention as to why you started and get back in the game when you’re ready. If you’re a self-motivated individual, you could be prone to beating yourself up or self-deprecating when you don’t reach your goals or go off-track. Always remember that whatever you want to achieve is for YOU, and you deserve to rest if need be.
Originally published at https://blog.okrshub.com on March 12, 2021.
