There is one enemy I can abashedly attribute to my
lack of desired progress in reaching my goals.
This enemy is pervasive and continually attacks many individuals around
the world. We have often attributed our lack of progress to external forces
inter alia lack of resources, time and support. Seldom have we looked inward to
find the problem. This devil inside is called inconsistency. Inconsistency is a
subtle deterrent but its effects are impactful. It usually creeps in unnoticed
or more sleekly justifiable. Inconsistency is a cousin to procrastination and
can even masquerade as progress. Inconsistency is going to the gym four times
in one week and taking a break for two months, and then resuming the vicious
cycle again. Going to the gym for almost a week consistently is really
progress, but the subsequent two months break makes an appalling average of twenty
four days of exercising per year. Yes, twenty four days out of three hundred
and sixty five days a year. The total
sum of the collective efforts is scant to even move a scale.
Once inconsistency pattern sets in, it’s difficult
to break. Waffen Buffett once said “Chains of habit are too light to be felt
until they are too heavy to be broken”. Once you have developed some
inconsistency syndrome in one area of your life, it ripples through other
areas.
The inconsistency syndrome has decidedly held
hostage the progress and advancement of many individuals. According to Frank
Clark, “What great accomplishments we’d have in the world if everybody had done
what they intended to do”. How much weight would you have lost had you been
consistent at going to the gym? How much knowledge would you have acquired if
you have been consistent in reading all those books you bought which are now
gathering dust on the bookshelf? How spiritually mature would you be today if
your spiritual pursuit had been more consistent? Where would you be in your
career had you been consistent in the efforts of improvement?
It is worth noting that inconsistency is costly. The
consequences of inconsistency are not immediate, but just like a slow virus,
the effects eventually surface. Jascha Heifetz, one of the greatest violinists of
the twentieth century said “If I miss a day of practice, I can tell. If I miss
two days of practice, my conductor can tell. If I miss three days of practice,
the rest of the orchestra can tell. If I miss four days of practice, the
audience can tell”. There is a consequence to your inconsistency. Take a moment
to reflect on how inconsistency might have negatively affected your progress.
What’s the root cause of inconsistency? Two things
can be said to breed inconsistency: lack of discipline and lack of commitment. These
are really by-products that ensue from not having a clear intention when a goal
is established. The most important question is why you want to achieve your
desired goal. Furthermore, what would be the consequence of not achieving your
desired goal? These questions might appear to be trivial but if the “why”
behind the pursuit of your goal is not strong enough, invariably lack of
commitment and lack discipline will result. The former and the ladder are
precursors to the inconsistent pursuit of that goal. It is difficult to stay
committed and disciplined to something which is not very important to us. Having
a strong “why” for our goals, will help us be consistent and keep going even
when the road becomes tough.
There’s a story of a salesman who looked out the
window of the hotel restaurant at the blinding snowstorm. He asked his waiter,
“Do you think the roads will be clear enough in the morning to travel and do
business?” The waiter replied, “Depends on if you’re on salary or commission.”
How important is losing weight to you? How important
is finishing the book you started years ago, or starting that company that you
always wanted to start, or improving your career or finishing your studies or
even learning how to play the piano. How important is reaching that goal to
you?
You are “consistency” away from reaching your
desired goals. Consistency is an impetus to hope; Hope, like a path in the
countryside: originally there was no path yet, as people are walking all the
time in the same spot, a way appears. As you consistently follow through the
plan towards your desired goals, you will achieve them. My wish is that you
become more consistent in pursuing your goal this year. Happy and fruitful New
Year. Namaste!
