Consistency: What's the big deal?
Remember that time when you promised yourself that you're going to work on your health?
That you're going to get fitter?
That you're going to exercise three times a week in order to do so?
Are you turning your new year resolution into a meme?
Well, what happened? If today you're not as fit as you once wanted to be, please be honest with yourself: was it because you didn't start your exercise regime after setting your goal, or was it because you didn't continue your exercise regime for whatever reasons that you have had?
You see, the real shit happens not when you START TO CHANGE, but when you NEED TO CONTINUE CHANGING. It's easy to start - when you get hyped up, pumping with motivation all over your mind and body, you set goals that excite you (like exercising three times a week). And you start right away, because you're so eager to achieve this goal that you've just set. One week passes by, you're still at it. One month passes by, you're probably still at it. Then pass by six months, hey you're not doing it anymore.
Honestly, we are the same - today marks my 37th day of vlogging (more than a month now), and there were many days that I dreaded to vlog. Because I lost my 'hype' to vlog, because I felt that my vlogs were boring, because I felt this and that... Guess what? Here I am, still vlogging without a break for 37 days straight. How did I overcome this? I acknowledged that my feelings were merely EXCUSES, and that I cannot give in to these excuses because I want to accomplish my goal, which is to vlog every day without a break.
How can you develop consistency?
My concept of building and maintaining consistency is to keep myself motivated throughout the process. Here is how I always remind myself:
WHY am I doing this?
-- I am vlogging because I set a goal to vlog every day without a break.WHY did I set this goal?
-- I set this goal because I want to build my personal brand as a student entrepreneur, while becoming comfortable on-screen.HOW can I continue doing this today?
-- I will record everything that I do, which is related to work but not family.EXAMPLE(S) of how can I continue doing this today?
-- I will charge my video camera right now, then turn it on once it's done and start recording whenever I'm working.
Reflection
In hindsight, consistency is easily the most essential step in producing results. When we are unable to produce our desired results, first we must audit ourselves if we are consistent enough with our effort. Truth be told, as I'm writing this to you today, I am also in the trial of overcoming my inconsistency. The past one week had been unexpectedly hectic and tiring, and I admit that I was not prepared at all for it. This led me to further delaying the DailyMastermind, and now we've only released 22 episodes (despite today being the 37th day of documentation).
Well, let us not dwell in our mistakes and instead let us focus on doing what we need to do RIGHT NOW!
This is an original article by me, first posted on my LinkedIn account.
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