Consistency Is Overrated

You start your week with a goal in mind, feeling motivated, driven, & determined to breeze through your to-do list. 

Some real progress is made on that first day & maybe even into the second, but then some irresistible train of thought invites you to the couch where a new season of "YOU" on Netflix is waiting to be binged, and next thing you know, you've been thrown completely off track.

At this point, believing that your lack of consistency is ruining your chances of reaching your goals can be tempting. However, rather than fixating on consistency alone, it might be more helpful to prioritize persistence in order to reach your goal.

Many success stories put sole praise on consistency, but the truth is, it's not that black & white.

Success doesn't come from never falling off track (nor should it be the initial focus) but from persisting despite resistance and unfortunate events.

That's how I interpret what Confucius, an ancient philosopher, meant when he said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

I'd even add iteration alongside persistence because what you change in your approach after rising can impact your result significantly.

When we shift to prioritizing persistence over consistency, we acknowledge that life can throw us curveballs and that it's okay to stumble. Instead of feeling defeated when things don't go to plan or blaming outside circumstances, we create systems and strategies to prepare for when we DO fall.

STORYTIME

At 17, the last thing I cared about putting thought toward was my desired career path.

I spent most of my time clowning with friends, watching anime, and playing video games. However, I did have a strong sense of curiosity whenever I thought about what I could achieve if I put my mind to it.

I wanted to make the most out of my 20s while living my desired lifestyle, which, at the time, included having a high-paying, fun job, fulfilling hobbies, & a modest following on a streaming platform.

I decided to attend a community college to get an associate degree and improve my resume. But college turned out to make me feel just as unpleasant as high school did.

I had to decide whether to stay in the school system for the next 2 years (potentially longer) despite strongly disliking it or dropping out & creating my own path.

Out of sheer ignorance and motivation, I dropped out at 18 and decided to forge my path.

Naturally, it wasn't easy in the slightest.

I pursued "make money with no experience" schemes such as Forex while working at various warehouse jobs.

But I also spent a lot of time learning new skills, such as boxing, music composition, personal development, and writing. At this point, my strong sense of curiosity pivoted towards the man I could become rather than what I could achieve.

However, this non-linear path to my desired lifestyle quickly humbled me by bringing my flaws to the surface.

Financial problems, lack of stability, poor time management, lack of clarity, substance addiction, and more became clear hindrances in pursuing my goal. I sometimes contemplated giving up on my goal and joining the military.

But I never did give up.

Instead, I doubled down on my desire by taking life more seriously and fixing the hindrances I put in my way head-on. I created systems I could plug into to stay focused and persistent in achieving my goal.

Looking back, I realize how often my persistent nature made me pick back up a habit that benefited me in the past or helped me take another crack at fixing a reoccurring problem.

Mastering persistence first is what kept me from being permanently crushed by life's unexpected nature.

Relying solely on consistency is similar to going "all in" on a game of dice every time you "feel lucky." If you believe the odds are in your favor, then you haven't been humbled enough.

The number of times I felt like giving up was more than enough to constantly question whether I wanted to continue down this road. But I'm continuously grateful to my past self for pushing through.

I'm still forging my own path, still learning, still growing, and most importantly, still persisting.

ACTION STEPS

So what does all this have to do with you?

Well, we've talked about how important it is to stay persistent when pursuing your goals, so now, let's get into how to make those goals happen.

1. Find Your Reason - First things first, I assume you have a goal in mind already, so you need to figure out why you want to achieve this goal. This typically leads people to misguided assumptions, so let me clarify:

- Don't use this as some form of law of attraction prompt. Some see this & believe if they have this super heartfelt "why," that's the end of their effort & somehow they'll achieve their goals/design their perfect life. FYI... that's taking "Your Thoughts Shape Your Reality" in the most extremist way possible.

- Also, don't skip over this because you feel as though it's too abstract/hard to pinpoint. This isn't for you to "feel good" or get motivated - this is your north star & will keep you on track when the trials & tribulations start coming in.

- A good "why" should be tangible, simple, & specific enough that there isn't any room for confusion. Plus, when you have a "why" that's measurable & tangible, it makes it easier to break down the steps you need to take to get there.

This quote by Jordan B. Peterson should add some additional clarity, "An aim, an ambition, provides the structure necessary for action. An aim provides a destination, a point of contrast against the present, and a framework, within which all things can be evaluated. An aim defines progress and makes such progress exciting. An aim reduces anxiety because if you have no aim, everything can mean anything or nothing, and neither of those two options makes for a tranquil spirit."

Take more than a few minutes to think about what you want your life to look like in 1-5 years.

2. Take Small Steps - After you have your "why," it's time to take action. Rome wasn't built in a day & no one ever reached their goals by magic alone. You must be willing to put in the work, so if you want something bad enough - it's time to start taking the necessary steps.

Start by breaking down your goal into smaller, bite-sized, achievable pieces. This is important & often overlooked because it can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

For example, If your "why" is to have a successful business, start by researching realistic short-term goals. Building a social media presence, learning evergreen skills, accumulating a network - these are all things that can help you move closer to your goals but should be broken down further into manageable tasks.

Remember, small steps count, too & even incremental progress can get you closer to what you want. So, create a list of actionable items that move you toward your north star.

3. Keep Track & Refine Your System - You have your "why" & your actionable steps; now you need to track your progress & refine your system.

By tracking what you do each day, you're indirectly creating a system of what your previous attempts were & how they worked. This can help you hone in on what worked & what didn't so that you can improve upon the system as time progresses.

Additionally, keeping tabs on your progress will give you a clear-cut indication of when something isn't working or when it's time to move on to something else. Now for me, this was one of the areas that I failed at a few times starting out, so I suggest figuring out whether tools such as apps or analog pencil & paper journals work for you & sticking with it.

These are 3 of the key steps I suggest when working towards reaching your goal. You'll find that there's much more to this than meets the eye, but if you have a solid "why," actionable tasks, and a tracking system - you're already set up for success.

GAMEPLAN

Just so you guys have a good point of reference, I'll share the game plan I've devised to face my problems head-on.

My "why" is to design a career path tailored to my constantly evolving interests & my intrinsic desire to become a self-actualizer.

With that being my north star, I decided to leverage the digital economy by solving and organizing the problems I face in public for the next 3-5+ years. My current issue is finding a business model that lets me pursue my passion without sacrificing my income. I also wanted to learn while growing my business and make it sustainable for a long time.

I found a potential solution by analyzing stories (currently movies) from my unique perspective. I'll write articles about the movie's holistic themes and repurpose them into separate articles specifically hyper-focused on my three interests (philosophy, fiction, and business).

Here's how my system looks:

1. Watch and take notes on a movie.

2. Write a big-picture article on the movie's themes from a holistic perspective.

3. Repurpose the big ideas into separate articles that hyper-focus on my interests and include actionable ideas.

This way, I can keep doing what I love without sacrificing anything, and it'll be sustainable for a long time.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, prioritizing persistence over consistency is the key to achieving success. It's important to acknowledge that life can throw us curveballs, and it's okay to stumble. Instead of feeling defeated, we need to create systems and strategies that help us get back on track and stay focused on our long-term goals.

- Take aim at a goal

- Understand the big picture why of that goal so you can break it down into smaller milestones

- Execute knowing you'll fail & fall off track

- Persist & iterate on your approach

To clarify, I don't believe we should through consistency out with the bath water, lol, but rather understand where you are right now. Consistency should be viewed more as a byproduct of continuous persistence & iteration than the miraculous skill you achieve because you wake up feeling motivated one week.

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