We all have our goals, and sometimes it’s hard to stay consistent in our way of achieving them. Lack of motivation & consistency can make things even harder than they actually are. If you are reading this, you probably want to know how to be more consistent, right? So here’s the good news: it’s not a lost case. If you have the right tools & the right motivation, you could develop great habits that will lead to great results.
In today’s post, I’m going to give you the tools that help me stay consistent in my everyday life, so you could take them and apply them in yours.
why is consistency important anyway?
The short answer is that it helps you create habits, good habits, and makes you stick to them: You learn not to give up easily, in any aspect of your life. You develop self-discipline and understand how to balance between things daily. Consistency also helps you gain confident and walk with your head up towards your goal.
Eventually, our habits and way of thinking are the things that shape us to be who we are. And working on yourself in that way can really make you a better version of yourself.
Now let’s get right into it:
how to be more consistent with your goals? 7 HELPFUL METHODS TO HELP YOU with it
1. Start small
Like any habit, it takes time to foster persistence, it is not something that’s created in an instant. Therefore, it’s important that you let it grow on you before you move on to something bigger. In that way, you will avoid a burdensome and find out which methods suit you more and which less. You will also know on what to put your focus on.
Did you know?
It takes between 30 to 60 days to develop new habits. Therefore, when you pass the 30 days period it’s already much easier to reach the 60 days period, and so on. So stick to your goal, and try practicing consistency in your life.
2. Remind yourself the “why” & “what” of your goals
Remind yourself on a daily basis what motivates you, why you do what you do and what will you earn from working on your goal. Focus on how good it will feel to finally achieve your goal (much better than giving up halfway through it).
If you’re saving money, remind yourself how it’s going to pay off. If you’re studying for a test, remind yourself how good you’ll feel when you pass it. That is a great way to keep you focus on track.
You can leave yourself sticky notes around your house or add to your digital calendar inspirational reminders.
“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso
3. Organize your time ahead
It’s essential to arrange a schedule ahead in order to be more consistent for several reasons:
A. You create a clear framework for yourself to stick to and make it much easier to reach your goal- If you are learning to play a new instrument, choose the best time for you to practice and stick to it. This way you reduce your chance of falling off the frame.
B. You clear & organize your mind– When you need to study for a test and you know exactly when you are going to study, your mind is free to think on other things for the rest of the day. That’s highly important because you don’t want to overthink and eventually get burned out before you even started.
C. It gives you feeling of success– When you stick to your schedule, you will probably feel satisfaction. This feeling of success is very important because it keeps you moving towards your goal.
4. Enjoy the process
When you enjoy the process, you are most likely keep up with it. And true, sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated with something you don’t enjoy of. That’s why it’s important to find ways that will help you get the best out of what you do.
Try to understand what you don’t enjoy of and change it. For example, if you’re trying to persist with studying and you’re tired of sitting in a chair writing all day, try recording yourself talking about the material, and listen to it while walking outside.
Another option is to make your environment more inventing & comfortable. If you are trying to keep up with writing blog posts for instance, create a cozy writing environment for yourself: a candle and relaxing background music.
You will have more fun approaching your tasks when you enjoy them. So try to dig a little deeper and understand how you can enjoy yourself along the way. As I mentioned before, reminding yourself how you’ll enjoy the result can also be very helpful.
5. Reward yourself for being consistent
In my opinion, the reward system is a super effective method. Knowing that you will be rewarded can motivate you greatly towards your goal.
Let’s say you want to get up early every morning but can’t find the strength to do so. When you know you would get something out of it, such as extra time to watch your favorite TV show, or half a dollar to put in your personal “reward fund”, you will probably put more effort into getting up on time.
Consistency is a process that takes time. Therefore, every half a dollar you give yourself for getting up early will eventually add up to 15 dollars after 30 days, with which you could buy something nice for yourself.
Or you will finally be able to finish watching your favorite TV show.
Reward can come in all kinds of forms. Choose the method that suits you best along the way.
A little tip:
When you have no motivation at all to do something, use the 3 seconds method. Count 1, 2, 3 (or 3, 2, 1) and then get straight ahead into doing what you need to. The rule is that you have to promise yourself to get up afterwards and take action.
6. Know your limits
It’s important you don’t overburden yourself, as the goal is not for you to be exhausted. Normalize taking breaks, and most importantly, avoid overburdening yourself in advance.
That’s why it’s important not only to know how to organize your time correctly, but also to know what your limitations are. If you work to earn easy money, do not take a lot on yourself (overtime work hours for example). You will only make it harder, and eventually hate your job (talking from experience).
7. Find people to share your process & goals with
Find the right people to share your aspirations and goals with. Talk to them about your difficulties, your successes and the things you await the most to accomplish.
Ask them questions and get suggestions from a different perspective. These can be friends, family members or anyone else.
You can also look for people who are interested in achieving the same goal as you, such as working out at least twice a week. Then you could walk outside or go the gym with them.
It’s always much more fun to have someone to share stuff with.
A note from me to you
To learn how to be more consistent is a process & I really hope these methods can help you along your way. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and to find the right motivation to do so.
I appreciate you for reading this far, and want you to know you can always contact me for any reason!
Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest , Instgram& Twitter, and I’ll see you in my next blog post.
❤