The Underrated Power of Consistency
In this day and age of instant gratification, consistency sometimes takes a backseat and is often thrown out of the vehicle altogether! In the 8th edition of “Let’s Talk!”, we will ponder over what it means to be regular and present, and how it can have a profound impact on your professional as well as personal life.?
What does consistency really mean?
It means hitting the gym everyday or?
eating certain amounts of protein everyday or?
going to work at a specific time everyday or it could even be
making sure you spend sufficient time with your loved ones everyday
The key here as you might have guessed is - EVERYDAY!
Doing a little bit of something every single day is what consistency is all about. Why does it even matter? Well, whatever the goal you are pretty much guaranteed success if you merely keep at it and move in the right direction.?
Here are some more outcomes of being consistent
Continued stress rewires your brain permanently! When you have a routine in place, (despite the fact that routines are classified as “boring”) you are less prone to stress or overwhelming your brain. Surprised? Learn more about it here.?
When you are consistent in prioritising the important things in life or even at work, the overall stress & feeling of being overwhelmed is reduced to a great extent. For example, working out regularly as opposed to working out intensively ahead of some occasion, or working long hours ahead of a deadline rather than spreading it out across the time you already had.??
2. Surround yourself with the right people
Whatever your goal, when you surround yourself with the right people, they will directly or indirectly demand consistency from you. This makes you so much more accountable to any task you take up. You can also consider working with people who complement your strengths rather than merely ask questions of you.?
For instance, if you suggest taking notes at every team meeting and announce it to the team. Note taking becomes a habit, and someone always reminds the group about it while someone else takes the responsibility of sharing the notes to a larger audience- this way consistency is built at the team level as well.?
3. Become more trustworthy
When you are a consistent, people around you tend to trust you more because they know you are reliable. This matters even more when you are a leader, as there will be a set of people looking up to you and getting inspired/uninspired by your actions!?
Consistency also helps build a sustainable team and company culture with time. For example, The e-commerce giant Amazon’s constant and consistent obsession with their customer experience has lead them to become a pioneer in superior customer service while also making sure every new employee also aligns with this value - so much so that it has become part of their DNA.?
4. Manage expectations well
When you do a certain task regularly, you slowly also build your reputation around it and eventually manage expectations of those around you better. Because, they know you will show up, you will get it done and that they can rely on you.?
If you are already known for your consistency at your workplace, when you want to take some personal time off or if you want to shake things up a little to work on another project, you are going to be able to do that easily because your manager knows you are already on-track with the things you’ve already been assigned so this interruption will not be an issue.?
Or if you are a brand with a consistent voice and tone, you know for a fact that customers expect the same experience from you every time. Like Amul’s famous and iconic “Amul Girl”
5. Consistency >> Talent / Knowledge
Being consistent trumps having deep knowledge or being super talented at something! No matter how you good you might be, if you don’t show up and execute, there is no way you are going to be able to put your knowledge or talent to good use.?
This is especially true for entrepreneurs or business owners, no matter how innovative your idea seems - if you don’t keep at it and chip away at it little by little everyday, success will always seem to be at bay. So, showing up every single day, especially for yourself has a whole other impact on your mind.
How can you practice being consistent?
Hold yourself accountable because why should someone else? Here are some questions you can ask yourself to keep at it day in and day out.?
These questions are not an exhaustive list, but just simple prompts to keep you on track.?
Review these with yourself at regular intervals and you'll notice slowly but surely things around you moving!
As always, I want to leave you with this actionable micro habits that are sure to bring in some big impact in your life! What's more these prompts can also easily be tweaked to use in a professional setting as well.
What other mechanisms do you use to help you keep at it? Share your thoughts and comments below!