Absent blind luck, success in every aspect of life requires consistency. Whether you are working towards an academic goal or career objective or improving your physical conditioning and health, consistency is paramount to success. Major goals are achieved only by successfully achieving a number of subgoals, and mastery of the subgoals will lead to achieving the major goal. For example, a sports team may set a goal of winning a championship, but in order to achieve that significant goal, the subgoals of creating a high-power offense and a stout defense must be achieved. To achieve those subgoals, the players must diligently practice improving their skill sets on a daily basis. Consistency in business improves efficiency, and companies that do not practice consistency in their day-to-day operations end up failing because the quality of products and services declines. This results in the company’s image being damaged and consumers losing faith in the company.
Why Consistency Matters
Like all animals, humans are inclined to take the path of least resistance and seek instant gratification from immediate results. Some people refuse to believe that consistency will help them succeed but think about what happens from being inconsistent. Compare two law school graduates who are preparing to take the bar exam. One studies four hours a day, six days a week, while the other studies only a few hours a week when he can make time on random days. Imagine a builder constructing a house who does not cut the wall studs to a uniform length. Consider a weight lifter who only trains on his days off from work. The law student who studied more consistently will almost certainly perform better on the exam, the builder’s house is guaranteed to have uneven walls, and the weight lifter will never reach his full potential.
Small positive steps create confidence and foster a belief that you can achieve your goals. Consider the inchworm moving along a tree branch. It may seem like the little worm will never reach the end of the branch, but through the consistent effort to achieve its subgoal of moving just one inch at a time through the tree, it achieves its major goal of getting to the end of the branch. Another example of what consistency can do is the old fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. As the tale goes, the two were in a race, and the hare thought he did not have to make much of an effort because he was so much faster than the tortoise. So the hare took his time, fooled around, and even took a nap. However, the tortoise plodded along slowly but consistently and crossed the finish line first. That is the power of consistency.
Developing Good Habits
Good habits will put you on the road to accomplishing your goals. Habits come from establishing repeatable actions, and consistency is about developing beneficial habits, like heading to the gym instead of a happy hour after work. The needed habits will vary depending on your goals, but the benefits remain constant.
Getting Started
Once you have defined your major goal, you need to set the subgoals and plan how you will achieve them. As the saying goes, success breeds success, and consistency is the first step in achieving that success. Consider a man who is out of shape and significantly overweight. His doctor tells him he must lose 50 pounds to avoid developing various medical issues such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Obviously, this person is in no condition to run a marathon, but by starting out walking just a few hundred feet every day, he will soon be able to walk around the block, then a mile, and more. Consistent small steps, just like the inchworm and the tortoise, will get you to your goal. Achieving the consistency that will get you to your major goal requires you to identify the primary goal and what subgoals will contribute to reaching that goal. Once that is accomplished, you will need to figure out what habits will help you achieve your subgoals.
Start slowly and build on your successes. The bigger the goal, the more intimidating the process typically is. Setting and focusing on subgoals makes the process much more manageable. Try to aim for at least a 70 percent rate of consistency. This means performing the activities at least seven out of 10 days or 21 days a month. Keep track of your progress by making a note on the calendar each time you work on one of your subgoals.
Health and Wellness
Health is almost always the most important thing people take for granted. This is unfortunate as the American Medical Association stated back in the 1960s that if people were to eat right and get adequate amounts of exercise that 90 percent of all medical ailments would simply disappear. Getting adequate amounts of exercise does not mean running a marathon but just performing some type of physical activity consistently. It is all too easy for most people to fall into the trap of thinking tomorrow, next week, or even next month, they will commit to eating better and getting in shape. However, procrastination in anything is the absolute antithesis of consistency.
Studies have shown that people are much more consistent in achieving their health and wellness goals when they purchase a gym or wellness studio membership because it gives them a sense of purpose, dedication, and belonging. It is also important to note that one area of wellness that even most people who are diligent about their physical health overlook is performing some form of stress reduction on a regular basis. This can be as simple as a few minutes of meditation or a more thorough exercise like float therapy. Sometimes referred to as sensory deprivation therapy, float therapy places your body in a tank filled with a high-salinity solution that allows you to float effortlessly while shutting out all external stimuli. Float therapy is so effective at reducing stress that it can reset the central nervous system and boost your immune system.
Because the human brain is wired to resist change, establishing good habits helps rewire the brain to consistently perform those actions that help you achieve your goals. However, success does not come from performing an action occasionally but only from consistent effort. Good habits become second nature and produce the desired results through consistent and concerted effort. If you set attainable subgoals, start with small steps, and increase your efforts when you feel ready, in a month, you will look back and be amazed at your progress.
Wellness studio, Be Still Float offers float therapy in Jacksonville, Florida, and a number of other ways to relieve stress, including sound healing and massage therapy. They also offer packages and memberships to help you stay consistent in your stress reduction efforts.
The special this month is our Unlimited Transcendance Membership. Make relaxation, rest, and rejuvenation a priority in the new year by committing to your own self with a consistent wellness practice. Enroll before the price increases on February 1, 2023 to receive Unlimited Floats, Unlimited Sound Healings, Unlimited Infrared Sauna Sessions, Unlimited Brio Chair Massage Sessions, Unlimited MLS Laser Therapy Sessions, Unlimited Roxiva Light Sessions, Unlimited Biomat Sessions, and 1 Emsella Session Per Month for only $199 a month. This is a value of $8,093! Please note:
• Three month commitment but cancel when you’d like thereafter
• Each service type may only be used once daily
• Credits are not sharable with friends or family
This limited quantity offer is sure to go quick, so feel free to call us at 904-619-9615 with any questions. If you are in the Jacksonville area, contact Be Still Float to schedule a session today.
