Consistency of thought and action is something that I’ve always wanted to develop. Being the spur-of-the-moment, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of guy that I am, consistency is not something that comes to me naturally. But the older I get the more I’ve become aware of how important consistency is to successful living.
Here are three reasons for practicing consistent actions:
1. Practicing Consistent Action Leads to Better Results -
If you try to do less, you’ll be more successful in the few things you do. I promise. Being an overachiever for most of my younger years, I always bit off more than I could feasibly chew. I took more advanced classes, participated in more activities and tried out more majors than any right minded student should. As a result I always felt like I was being pulled too thin and had trouble realizing the level of achievement that I was hoping for.
Diversifying your interests or actions is like diversifying your stocks, it sets a limit on maximum gain. In the same way Warren Buffet warns against over diversification of a stock portfolio because it dilutes the potential for long term gain, over diversifying one’s interests can have a similar effect. The more things you do the less time you have for each of them. And the poorer your results with each task. It’s like multitasking. While multitasking seems like a good idea because you can get more done in less time, in reality you end up with lower quality work.
The problem with doing too much is that it almost inevitably leads to inconsistent action and poor results. When you’re involved in ten different things, it’s hard to keep up with everything. High school and college students who fall into this trap tend to be involved in a lot of clubs and activities throughout the semester, but suddenly stop showing up as finals draw near. Usually these are the kids who overspent their time, doing more activities than they actually had time for. This results in last minute cramming and usually lower test scores.
2. Practicing Consistent Action Leads to Fulfilled Promises -
Coming of age in the 21st Century, amidst the rise of high speed internet, WIFI, cellphones, Blackberries, and a host of other techno gadgets, people have come to accept flakiness as standard practice. In today’s world it’s okay to say to a friend, five minutes before a meeting, “I’m sorry I don’t think I’m going to make it, I couldn’t get out of bed.” It’s hard to imagine someone doing that a hundred or even fifty years ago. But in today’s hyper connected world, it’s totally okay.
Being consistent with your word is something that not only helps create a good image of yourself, it helps you feel better from the inside out. Have you ever made a promise to yourself only to realize that you made the same promise months or years ago? Every time you make a promise that you fail to fulfill, you destroy your own credibility to yourself and to others. Follow through with your promises or don’t make them at all. Before you say to yourself or a friend, I’m going to do “X” really think about whether or not you can and will actually do “X”. If not, don’t say it. No promise is better than an unfulfilled one.
Practicing consistent action leads to fulfilled promises. When you always do the things that you say, (i.e. practicing consistency in word and action) success will flock to you like old men to Baywatch reruns. :) People like consistent people, and people want to work and reward consistent people, it’s that simple. That’s why most ideal candidates for job postings have to be able to demonstrate a history of “consistent” results.
3. Practicing Consistent Action Leads to Greater Potential -
Recently I read a great article in the NYT that was about the elusiveness of talent and how, scientifically speaking, there is little evidence to suggest that talented people like Tiger Woods and Yo-Yo Ma are solely the product of genetic boon. The article, the title of which I cannot seem to remember, made the point that successful people tend to exhibit certain behavioral qualities that unsuccessful people do not. Can you guess what it is?
You betcha. The quality that exceptional talents exhibit is consistent action. In sports and the arts, it’s usually called practicing, but the function is the same regardless of the field. Consistent action leads to greater potential. Tiger Woods has a ridiculous swing and can whip it out regardless of the pressure because he’s practiced it consistently throughout his life. Of course the man’s got talent, but more importantly, he’s backed that talent up with a work ethic that drives him to practice his swing over and over again trying to achieve greater consistency with each attempt.
Consistent action leads to greater potential because when we act consistently we are building up not only our physical and mental skills, but also psychological strength. When we are psychologically strong, we are better equipped to believe in our own potential. It’s easy to pick up an instrument and only after a few practice sessions, determine that you lack talent and give up altogether, than it is to stick it through for a year and discover your own potential.
Practicing consistent action leads to better results, greater potential and fulfilled promises and goals. Though the going is tough, the end results more than make up for it. In my next post, I’ll outline five tips that I’ve found helpful in developing consistency of action.
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[...] yesterday’s post, Three Reasons for Practicing Consistent Action, I outlined three reasons for practicing consistent action. For today’s post I wanted to [...]