Consistency, or something more?
Yesterday, I posted an update on my weight-loss journey, and the theme of it was consistency. It referred to the fact that continued work over a longer period ultimately yields results. But I started to think about this. Is this just a superficial way to attribute success, or is it more than that? Basically, yes. Consistency’s dictionary meaning is “conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy or fairness.” When this is applied to obtaining a goal, showing up to the gym every day or eating better, it’s more than just doing those things every day. It takes consistency, but it also takes dedication, sacrifice, discipline, focus, routine, and the ability not to conform. You can’t be like everyone else; you have to do what you need to do. Besides, some goals require short, fierce efforts and some goals require steady efforts for years.
Much of my success this time with weight loss has been my unwavering focus on staying sober. The ability to not drink when everyone else around you just tells you that you don’t have a problem with alcohol is one of the most interesting things to experience. Most people have also convinced themselves that they don’t have a problem with alcohol either, but they wake up feeling like they’ve been hit by a bus, which lasts until they either start drinking again or make it another 24 hours without drinking to feel better. That’s it right there. Your sign that alcohol is a problem. But, I am not here to persuade anyone to do something they don’t want to do. I can say, that if you want success, you will have to do things you don’t want to do. You will have to tell yourself “no”, you will have to tell other people “no”, and you will have to be honest with yourself about what is getting in your way of success. Most of the time, we are in our own way. It’s not anyone else, it’s our own inability to tell others and ourselves “no”.
So, does consistency actually help us with reaching goals? Or is it more routine? The same thing, day after day without hesitation or question. I wake up every day, have coffee, and take Claritin because if I don’t, I will end up not being able to hear anyone or anything. I’m in school, so I check my assignments or read and get ready for clinical if I have them that day. I check my email and figure out what I will learn today and how it applies to my coursework. I eat, I leave the house and, I learn. I work out after clinical. It is my time to decompress, move, and see what I can do that day. I eat a good dinner, wind down by watching useless YouTube videos, or people lifting and get to bed just after I answer 10-20 NP board questions. All of these things are a routine that serves as a foundation for success. If we are constantly all over the place, living in this state of perpetual chaos, how can anyone expect good things to happen? There has to be routine which then, in turn, equals consistency.
Whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, you’ve got to figure out what you’re currently doing and how it isn’t working. Change cannot occur unless you know where you’re starting. Oftentimes, we are self-sabotaging or telling ourselves we just can’t possibly give something up like time to work on our weaknesses, alcohol, food, or a particular place that leads us down a path of unhealthy choices and regrets. But if we aren’t honest with ourselves, then who are we actually honest with? Intrapersonal communication is one of the most important parts of setting goals and actually going through with the work needed to be done to get there. The voice from within has to be the loudest in telling you, you can do it. Remember, having a support system helps in the background, but the support system isn’t what’s getting the work done, you are.
