If Anything, Overestimate the Importance of Consistency
If you take time to read or listen to successful people, from artists to business executives to professional athletes and everywhere in-between the most common trait is consistency. I remember running track as a kid and wondering if the top performers ever went on to compete in the Olympics. I went home and did research and for the most part, the superstar kid athletes would get injured and quit or just get burned out. Essentially, if you weren’t the best athlete as a child but finished close to the superstars, all you had to do was keep being consistent- not get injured and consistently practice to make it to the top. Our culture loves to tell a story of an overnight success, or the 20 year old millionaire, that’s because these are rare and make a good news story. What doesn’t make a great news story? He/She consistently showed up for 15, 30, 50 years, and consistently did a great job.
Of course, there are the athletes that didn’t start till a few years ago and now they are professionals. Or those startups that blew it out of the gate right away. These stories are inspiring to say the least, but they don’t account for the majority of success stories. Even then, these athletes and start-ups had to be consistent for short periods as well.
If you actually look at the majority of successful people, they just kept going and making sure they did the best they could day in and day out. Bob Iger CEO of Disney, arrived at the office between 6:30 and 7am, before everyone else, and didn’t leave till 6-6:30 at night even if he’d been traveling internationally for the company the day before. I could go on and on with examples. He was bold when he needed to be, but for the most part, he was “just” consistent at showing up and doing a good job.
The tricky part is, that consistently showing up for an extended length of time is only possible if you have a purpose and find joy throughout the day. I hate the saying do what you love, I love to eat a great meal, but I’m not trying to eat all day! I love coffee shops as well, but I’m not trying to own one! Instead, do where your purpose lies, where you have goals that everyone else says are unattainable - as you scratch away at achieving those goals you’ll stay motivated. And staying motivated with little wins keeps you going, it keeps you consistent.
Outside of your professional goals, be consistent with yourself.
Personally, I write down my goals every morning to remind myself what I’m working towards. It’s easy to lose sight or want a day off from driving towards your goals, but once I write them down first thing in the morning, I find new motivation, and this aids in my consistency. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to write your goals down every single morning- even on the weekends. Writing them down takes one to two minutes but keeps you motivated and you’ve already completed one step toward being consistent with one task every day that will improve your life.
Last but not least, be consistent with your sleep. If you commit to waking up at the same time every morning, even on the weekends, in turn, you’ll commit to going to sleep every night at the same time because you need sleep and want optimal brain function.
Overestimate the importance of consistency in both your professional life and your life outside of work and you’ll go far. Sure, it will take time, but that time will pass anyway so mine as well be consistent in the meantime.