When consistency is lost, everything can fall apart quite quickly and I think this goes for everything in life. The more I learn about how to be consistent with my own personal habits, the more I see the important role consistency plays in all areas of society.
When you’re trying to create better habits, they only really count if you’re consistent. It’s no good eating healthy meals for a couple of weeks before falling back into bad eating habits. Those first two weeks won’t have counted for much at all. I see this happening all the time with others and in my own life too.
You start off with good intentions, feel really excited and motivated and then something pops up and causes you to fall off the wagon. And this is the case with everything from eating well, exercising or writing, for example.
So whilst it’s fun to write about creating better habits, I think the most important thing is to understand how to be consistent with them. That’s going to be the difference between seeing great results (and the kind of ones you want) and not…
…so how do you go about this? After all, things happen in life. You have control over what you’re trying to do, but sometimes life happens and you’re forced to work out later in the evening than you originally planned or you get invited to a wedding abroad for the weekend where you don’t have access to your new healthy diet.
In this post, we’ll go over the 5 most important things if you’re going to stay consistent and I also think these apply to anything you’re trying to be consistent with in life.
1. Understand you’re ‘why’
I like to talk about your why as the first thing you need to identify when creating better habits. I think this is incredibly important because if you have a strong reason as to why you want to be consistent with something, you’re more likely to find a way to keep doing it, even when hurdles pop up.
For example, if you really want to lean down because you know your heavy weight is going to stop you from playing with your children, you’re more likely to take small steps like saying “no” when you get invited out for Chinese food or bring your own food to cook at a friend’s BBQ.
Your why is your guiding light that thrusts you forward, over and over again. Essentially, it’s your reason why you care enough to keep going.
In my own experience with being consistent with habits, my why is often because if I know that if I can’t keep a promise to myself, I don’t know if I can do the same with others.
Being disciplined is one of the most important things in life to me. I know I am not in control of everything in the world, but I can be in control of what I put in my mouth and how often I exercise.
2. Learn to say “no”
Learning to say “no” has been a real game-changer for me. Often we say “yes” because we don’t want to let people down or because we may think we’re missing out on some kind of fun event that is happening.
I actually said “no” to something today because, to me, my writing habit is more important than the invitation I got. That’s not to say I decline every invitation I get. But when I know I want to do something important, I make the habit of saying “no”.
Saying “no” allows me to move closer to my goals. It creates more space for me to do the things that I want to do.
Growing up, I was always a people pleaser. I’d say “yes” to all kinds of things I really didn’t want to do. I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t fun or wasn’t ‘one of the crowd’. But as I’ve got older, my priorities have changed.
Now I want to do the things that are important to me.
Saying “no” requires discipline though, especially if you’re a people pleaser like I was. You have to get comfortable saying “no” when you get invited to do something during the time when you want to write or exercise, for example.
3. Make the time
We all have 24 hours in a day. How you spend yours will determine how much you weigh, the way you feel, your sense of purpose and how fit you are. If there’s something that is important to you, you have to make the time to do it.
Decide when it makes sense to do the thing you want to do and to do this you need to create a daily routine that suits your needs. As mentioned, unexpected things happen in life but you also already have responsibilities like going to school or work and family to look after.
So when it comes to staying consistent with your habits, you have to be realistic. If you already have a lot on your plate, you need to start small and find the best times possible to get after your goals.
For example, if you work a 9-5 job, you need to find the best time to do your writing. You might be too tired after work, so it might make more sense to do your writing in the morning. And, this could mean waking up earlier than you usually do to get this done. Essentially, you’ll have to make time to get your writing in and this is why your why is so important.
Making a change in your routine is difficult but if your new habit is important enough, it won’t feel so painful at first.
4. Create a winning environment
Staying consistent with your new healthy habits means creating a winning environment. If you plan to eat healthy, you have to keep your fridge and freezer stocked up. If you plan on exercising regularly, you need to make space in your home or have your kit washed and ready for your run.
In my experience, having a winning environment is half the battle when it comes to staying consistent. I’m able to eat healthy every day because I keep fresh foods at home. I’m able to write every day because I keep my laptop nearby and my space clutter-free. I keep my vitamins by the kettle so I remember to take them first thing in the morning.
When I do these things, everything becomes much, much easier. I believe your environment often dictates your behaviour. For example, if I go to the pub for the evening, I’m more likely to have a beer and then another and then another. If I pop into the pub for lunch, I’m more likely to have one beer with my food and then leave.
And if I’m around negative people, I’m more likely to start feeling like them about life but if I surround myself with people that inspire me, I feel like I can take on the world.
So, create an environment that makes your life much easier, whatever that looks like for your particular goals.
5. Prepare to fall off at times
No matter how many times you prioritise your new habits, something will always pop up making it almost impossible for you to go to the gym, for example. And that’s the key point when it comes to staying consistent. You have to learn to fall off at times without being hard on yourself. You have to let go of the idea of perfection.
You can be ultra-disciplined but the world sometimes has other ideas and circumstances change. The important thing is to not allow these things to become excuses. As mentioned, small things pop up and there are things you need to work around but it’s okay for the bigger things to stop you in your tracks.
Just don’t beat yourself up. In my own experience, doing this only pushes you back to your old bad habits. You can’t be 100% ‘on it’ the whole time, it’s just not realistic.
Sometimes you’ll get ill or there will be an emergency you have to attend and that’s okay. Consistency means you keep doing something but if you miss a day that’s fine. For example, if I have to attend a birthday party and I find myself eating some cake, I’ll just go easy on my eating the next day. One day isn’t going to make any difference.
What you do most of the time is what counts.
So are you ready to start being more consistent?
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