Consistency is variable
I used to think that being consistent meant that you had to do the same thing every day.
At first when starting something new I was all fired up and the short term motivation pushing me to do the new thing. It’s kind of ‘fun’ to be doing something different isnt it?
There are honestly so many times that I have tried to to do something EVERY DAY aka consistently. Lets use an example of setting myself a goal to do ‘15 mins of yoga every day’… I should point out that this was attempted from a baseline of no yoga at all.
Here’s a rough account of how it went
Days 1-3 no problem, I am ON IT! Nothing will stop me from doing it, I will change my daily plan around so that whatever it is will happen, youtube clips at the ready. LETS GO!
Days 4-5 hmmm this is not as much fun as it was, plus I start to think of all of the other things that need doing, but its ok I expected that it would start to feel more of a chore, but I will get it done.
Days 6&7 - uh oh, it s the weekend. My days are not as structured and I have fun things that I was to do… I will give myself Saturday off - I mean, surely missing one day will be fine. Sunday flies by so fast, I’ve got my PJ’s on, but I will do 5 mins (better than nothing right?). I will start again tomorrow.
Days 8-9 AHHH, I’m not getting any better. I can’t see a difference. I’m not sure there is any point, but I am doing it.
Day 10 - late finishing work, I’m having the day off yoga.
Day 11 - Well, there’s no point doing it now, I might as well wait until Monday and ‘start again’… after all I need to be consistent and I have ruined that now.
Day 14 (Monday) - I just don’t get round to it. I will do it again when things calm down at work/ next month/ in the Summer (or whatever I tell myself).
Ultimately, by trying to be consistent I have set myself up to fail. Too much pressure, then the feeling of failure when I wasnt able to meet the original ‘15 min a day of yoga’ goal. Fast forward a few years and I still love a goal/ challenge but the way I view consistency is different.
I am realistic - life can be challenging and it can through some curve balls that I cannot control.
Do something - I may not be able to do a set amount of time every time, and thats ok. Doing something, no matter how small is all part of the plan. I do not beat myself up for not managing to do ‘enough’.
Remind myself of ‘why’ I am doing it - it might be a personal challenge and I want to show myself that I can, or perhaps I am wanting to gain strength of fundraise, whatever it is reminding myself of why I started helps (most of the time).
Timetable - I look at my week ahead and plan for days that I know will be difficult, by either ‘doing something’ (no matter how small) or if its not going to be possible I simply know that there is no expectation on that day - and that is all part of the plan of consistency.
Variety helps - keep it interesting, going exactly the same thing can get boring and start to feel like a chore. Mix it up a bit.
I hope this helps you to view consistency in a slightly different way