Consistency is the Key.

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure. Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices.” – Jim Rohn

“Good better best never let it rest until good is better and better is best” was my favourite nursery rhyme growing up. The rhyme is an ode to what it takes to be excellent in any endeavour: exercising, running a business or raising a family. Consistency is the key to achieving anything worthwhile, Success is never an accident, and failure is usually not a coincidence. As author, Jim Rohn often said, “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day, while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.” Greek philosopher Aristotle also echoed the same sentiment: “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act but a habit.

We get rewarded publicly for what we diligently and painstakingly practice in private. We play the way we train, sweat in training to bleed less in war is a common military saying. I started swimming in October 2021, and it was tough at first learning the fundamentals and rudiments, but like everything, I got the hang of it with time. When I started learning how to swim, I used to practice at least 2 hours per day, once in the morning and another session in the evening. Because of my dedication and consistency, the lifeguards in my local YMCA started paying attention and began to give me tips and tricks for becoming a good swimmer. At some point, the lifeguards wondered why I was so dedicated to swimming so much. I swam a lot as a result of the habit-stacking strategy – My swimming session is the time I listen to french materials.

The consistency I put into my exercise regimen is finally paying off, as I do many of these activities effortlessly now. I habitually stack a lot of my routine, which has made a lot of difference in my ability to go to the gym even when I am consistently tired. Here is my typical exercise routine in a day:

Run at least 10-12 KM early morning – Listen to French Podcast.
Shoot Basketball – Listen to an audiobook (Biographies/Personal Development)
Swimming Session – Listen to French Study Material while swimming (A waterproof MP3 player makes this possible)
Weight Lifting Session – Listen to audiobooks.

As a result of my habit-stacking/exercise-based personal development, I can finish more books and listen to many French materials. I average at least three books a week and spend close to 90 hours a month in the gym. I constantly train for a marathon and strive to beat a personal record daily. As the saying goes, Motivation gets you started; consistency and self-discipline keep you going. You do not have to be great to start, but you must begin to be great. Starting and staying committed to any worthwhile goal is crucial in actualizing your dreams and aspirations.

The Law of Consistency: Motivation Gets You Going—Discipline Keeps You Growing ¹

In the end, hard work is really the accumulation of easy things you didn’t do when you should have. It’s like diet and exercise. Everyone wants to be thin, but no one wants to make the right choices to get there. It’s hard work when you’ve neither eaten right nor exercised day after day. However, if you make small right choices each day, day after day, you see results.

Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing. That’s the Law of Consistency. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It doesn’t matter how many opportunities you receive. If you want to grow, consistency is key. – John C. Maxwell

Consistency is a crucial part of developing potential leaders. When we are consistent, our people learn to trust us. They are able to grow and develop because they know what to expect from us. They can answer the question, “What would my leader do in this situation?” when they face difficult decisions. They become secure because they know what our response to them will be, regardless of circumstances. ²

Meditation

Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Volume
Ideally, we want our thoughts to sound like a whisper, but it is not so simple when our mind is active. Imagine a volume dial on your thoughts when you notice the pull of thoughts. Picture yourself gently turning down the volume.

Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak. – Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Self-Esteem vs Self-Worth
Self-esteem is what we think and feel and believe about ourselves. Self-worth is recognizing “I am greater than all of those things”. It is a deep knowing that I am of value, that I am loveable, necessary to this life, and of incomprehensible worth. – Dr Christina Hibbert
Often we think of the outside world as the mirror that reflects our self-worth, but it isn’t. You are always worthy of respect, kindness, and love.