Coffee, Cake and Consistency

Sitting in a newly opened bakery and enjoying a nice cake, I appreciated how nicely it was baked because all of the ingredients were well mixed and of good consistency. I wondered if that wasn't true for everything in life. Consistency creates habits, which define our approach to life and, as a result, how happy or satisfied we are.

Sipping a nice cup of coffee with a nice consistency of milk, water, and cocoa made me think that we all have the inherent strength, ideas, and intentions to achieve results, so why do only a few people succeed? Is it luck, fate, or some other factor at work?

When we were students, we wanted to take proper, regular notes, attend classes, and get good grades at the beginning of each academic session. But after the first week, we gave ourselves leeway to be lenient for a day, then a week, and by the time we realised, the year had passed us by, and we blamed it on bad company, distractions, and sometimes even teachers. Isn't it the same for the workplace? We blame our co-workers, competitors and seniors, but the question is, are we consistent in our effort every day? When?the?allure?of?a?task?wears?off?,?we?either?perceive?it?to?be?simple,?boring,?or?overly?difficult.?If by much effort, we get close to finishing the task, the last mile appears?to?be?the?longest.?However,?it?is?not?the?last?mile?that?is?the?longest,?but?it?is?the?point?at?which?our?willpower?or?interest?are?exhausted, that makes it feel difficult.

Similarly in our?relationships,?whether?with?family?or?friends,?if?we?don't?get into a habit of spending quality time with them on a regular basis, a drift begins and?eventually?the?gap?becomes?so?large?that?we?can't?bridge?it.

I believe this is the same reason why religious rituals, such as mantra chanting, Sunday church prayers, fasting on specific days, and so on, were instituted in the first place. All of this helps us develop the habit of repeating the same prayer to the Supreme Being, providing us with the much-needed faith and assurance to keep moving even in the most difficult circumstances.

Many health businesses make a lot of money based on this psychological fact; many of us join health clubs at the start of the year and leave well before the 15th of January because maintaining consistency is boring and, ah! there is always a next month.

This?is?also?a?fundamental?based?on?which?the?finance?industry?has?picked?up.? Mutual?funds?thrive?on?monthly?Systematic?Investment?Plan?(SIP)?which?is?nothing?more?than?making?a?habit?of?consistently?saving?and?similar?can?be?sent?for?loan?EMIs.?Unfortunately,?when?you?fail?to?follow?these?financial?habits,?there?is?a? penalty?to?pay?that?we?can?see,?but?there?is?a?similar?penalty?for?other?habits?that?are?not?followed?on?a?regular?basis?that?we?cannot?see.

Non-financial?inconsistencies?result?in?more?severe?penalties,?which?are?difficult? to?quantify?but?are?serious,?such?as?unhappiness,?restlessness, dissatisfaction etc.

As?I?pay?the?bill?and?leave,?I?realise?the?power?of?habit?and?how?controlling?one's?mind?of?distraction?helps?make?the?habit?of?focusing?on?right?objectives?and? allowing?us?to?live?a?happy?and?fulfilled?life.

This morning my daily affirmations diary mentioned about the same "Good and bad habits both take time to acquire force. Powerful bad habits can be displaced by opposite good habits if the latter are patiently cultured." - Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda