It’s when I exercise I have the best insights.
The physical exertion seems to bring about the present moment and it’s when we are in the present moment connection to our real selves can occur.
So I’m on a bike ride and for this particular ride, thoughts of consistency consume my mind.
Thoughts of the fact that no matter what it is we choose to do, doing it consistently will see us successful.
- Want to become fit? Consistent training will get us there.
- Want to learn how to play an instrument? Consistent practice will get us there.
- Want to run a successful online business? Consistent action will get us there.
These thoughts run through my mind as I continue my ride and I think, “hang on a minute, what if I am doing something consistently but I am doing it incorrectly?” In this case, consistency will not achieve the success I desire.
So, to truly achieve success we must be consistent at taking the correct action.
Therefore, to answer the question put forward at the heading of this blog I would have to say no, consistency does not equal success, but rather,
Correct Consistency = Success
Another way to phrase this might be:
Do “perfect” practice often!
In order to do perfect practice, it is important to learn what that “perfect” practice is.
For example, I decided to get back into horse riding by having lessons. I believed I knew how to ride because I used to horse ride often from the age of about 12 to 21.
Boy, did I have it wrong.
Sure, I could get on a horse and rise trot, canter, and even go over jumps. But I soon found out there was a lot of room for improvement regarding my style of riding.
The riding lessons I now attend teach “dressage” style riding. I’d have to say I believe it to be a far better way of riding, especially when taking into account working with the horse to achieve that ultimate horse-rider connection.
So now I am applying “perfect practice” to my horse riding as I am being taught.
So no matter what it is you desire to be successful at, before applying consistent action I’d strongly suggest learning what the correct consistent action is.
And then there’s the consistency bit:
To be consistent, it is important to make sure you set a certain amount of time per day, or per week, to practice what ever it is you need to in order to achieve success at it.
In the book “Outliers: The Story of Success”, Malcolm Gladwell explains that it takes approximately 10 000 hours of practice to become a master, or world-class expert, at doing something.
I’m talking extremes here.
10 000 hours will bring you into the elite of the elites.
So allow me to play with this “becoming an expert” timeline:
Considering it takes around 10,000 hours to become a “master of your domain”, it might take around 5000 – 6000 hours of practice to become just plain elite at something (which is pretty damn good I say).
So if you were to spend 3 hours a day practising your craft, that would equate to 1,095 hours a year, meaning it would take approximately 5 years to become elite at what you do.
To be successful does not require “elite” status but it does require you to be pretty good.
So let’s say it takes a little under half the amount of time to become good enough to be successful.
(I’m taking into account the fact that the better you become at something the harder it is to become better)
So I’m gonna say it would take about 2 years to become good enough to become successful.
Now you may think “Why are you telling me this?”.
Who wants to think about having to spend 2 years to become good at something?
You know what? At my age, 2 years isn’t really that long at all. Spending two years working at becoming successful at something may seem like a long journey at the beginning but, before you know it, those 2 years will have passed and, provided you put in the correct consistent action, you’ll be reaping the rewards.
The trick is:
- Getting started (a 10 000 step journey begins with the first step). Commit yourself to apply the correct consistent action. Do your due diligence. Find out what that “correct” is.
- Follow through. Do whatever it takes to make sure you take that correct consistent action. Schedule, schedule, schedule! Sure, life can get in the way so sometimes we might miss a scheduled “session”. The trick is to make sure we get right back up on that horse the next day.
My previous blog on How to Find the Time You Need to Start, Run and Build Your Successful Online Business may come in handy if you think you’re unable to find the time to do your “perfect practice”.
When you focus on what needs doing on a daily basis and actually do it, sure enough, those days turn into weeks, the weeks into months and the months turn into years.
Before you know it a couple of years will have passed and you’ll be so thankful for the fact you applied the correct consistent action because if you hadn’t you would not be really good at doing what it is you’ve now become successful at.
Final Words:
Know that if you set yourself the daily goal of “action”, before you know it you will become good at it. Living in the present moment and doing what it is you know you need to do daily to become a success – that is a secret of success.
It’s the choices we make each day that determines our future. Time flys. Before you know it a year has passed. If you have ensured to put into action set tasks to do each day to achieve your desired results, then you are well on your way to becoming really great at it.
If you chose to say things like….
- “Stuff it”
- “It’s too hard”
- “I Couldn’t be bothered”
- “I’ll do it tomorrow”
…..then before you know it, the years will have passed and you may look back on your life to see you are in the exact same place you were in two years ago possibly left with a feeling of regret.
Instead,
Become the NIKE slogan, “Just Do It” (a favourite saying of mine).
Small steps of action taken often lead to big things (reminds me of that song “From little things Big Things Grow”).
Be present
Do what needs to be done
and
Expand yourself to be the best version of yourself you can be.
P.S. I really hope this blog has inspired you in some way. Knowing I have helped others inspires me, so feel free to leave a comment below 🙂