The Key to Consistency

Covid-19 has been an eye-opener to many people. The world grinding to a halt has, in many people, shown them what really matters to them and the goals that are most important to them. It could be something on your bucket list you want to tick off or a personal goal that you want to achieve to better yourself, but for a lot of people, creating good, consistent habits is difficult. There is always that voice in the back of your head that says ‘I’m too tired to go for a run today, or ‘I don’t have time to do this anymore’ that stops us from being consistent and achieving our goals. Today, we are going to discuss some ways to solidify these habits, as even consistently doing a little regularly is much better than doing nothing. 

Small adjustments

Start with small changes. There are rumours everywhere about how long it takes to develop a habit, but it varies from person to person and depending on what the habit is. You need to start with small steps towards your end goal, and create sustainable habits that you can maintain. For example, if you want to start running, maybe the first small habit you create can be simply waking up at the right time everyday, then maybe going for a walk or doing some light exercise that time everyday, and continuing building it up till you have a habit you can consistently follow. 

Identify and confront obstacles

You need to recognise the real reason that you are reluctant to do certain tasks. There may be deeper, hidden reasons for some things that you haven't even realised about yourself, so thinking hard about them can be very illuminating. There are inevitably going to be bad days on any journey, especially if what you set out to do is mentally challenging. You need to make sure that you also have good outlets for stress to make sure you don't slip back into bad habits on these bad days. 

Support

Support makes everything easier. Doing things with friends or family can also provide that small boost of motivation you need to keep these consistent habits. Also, having that support bubble around you is a bit of reassurance that on those bad days, you have people you can talk to and people that will help you. 

Environment

The environment in which you do things has a massive outcome on how efficiently and to what standard those tasks are completed. Studying for a test is much easier in a quiet library than a noisy and messy room full of distractions. The issue with consistency is that it is very easy to let one small setback or one bad day ruin all the effort you have put in. Therefore, to minimise this happening try and make sure that your environment is optimal for whatever it is you are doing to make it easier for yourself, and also to ensure you can't make any excuses! 

Celebrate the wins

This is so important - positive reinforcement goes a long way! Celebrate even the small victories, for example, have you finally been able to play that piece of music you have been struggling with for ages? Finding some way to commemorate these victories motivates you even further, and also makes your end goal seem a lot more doable if you split it up into lots of smaller goals. Maybe even keep a journal about your journey to consistency where you celebrate all your victories! There are always going to be some failures, so keeping in mind what you have accomplished will help you bounce back from them faster than ever!

I hope to see you all making sustainable, consistent, good habits and breaking the cycle of one-month new year's resolutions!