You’re probably familiar with the word consistency, and the term “consistency is key.” You’re already consistent with many things in your daily life, whether it be showing up to work or school every day, talking to your friends and family consistently, or basic things like eating regularly. When we say, “consistency is key,” we mean more than this, though. Consistency is an important virtue to reach your goals and live a productive life. So, what exactly makes a person consistent?
1. Discipline
Consistency begins with discipline—doing what needs to be done even when motivation fades. For instance, if you’re aiming to wake up early, you’ll find that motivation alone isn’t enough to keep you on track every day. Discipline means getting up at that early hour even when you’d rather hit the snooze button.
The reward is the pride in knowing you followed through on your goal, reinforcing your ability to keep commitments. Remember, even the most successful people face days without motivation. They rely on discipline to keep going, which ultimately strengthens their resilience and habits.
2. Gradual Improvement
Sticking with the same example of waking up early; you’re likely not going to be able to get up at 6 A.M. if you’re used to falling asleep very late in the night. Say you’re more of a night owl, and are used to going to bed at 2 A.M. Instead of forcing yourself to sleep for half the recommended time, you would consistently start going to bed earlier, so you can wake up earlier.
The same can be said about anything that requires consistency. If you want to go to the gym and start lifting weights, chances are you won’t be able to start out with 50-pound weights. You’ll have to start small and work your way up. You won’t reach your goals instantly, but with consistency, you can reach smaller goals in order to sustainably work your way towards your bigger ones.
3. Staying True to Your Word
Consistency is essentially keeping promises. You’re keeping promises to yourself, by showing up every day (even when you don’t want to), but you’re also keeping promises to others.
When you show up to work every day, that’s being consistent. When you take steps to wake up earlier or go to the gym when you say you will, you’re being consistent with your promises to yourself. This is important because it improves your self-concept, and you will begin to trust yourself more.
4. Accountability
Accountability is another important element of consistency. As mentioned, when you’re consistent, you’re keeping promises. But sometimes things don’t always go as planned. If you can’t be consistent, you can be consistent with holding yourself accountable. This can look like a number of different things.
Of course, accountability with others can include apologizing when you know you messed up, and developing clear communication skills. When you apologize to someone, you expect them to forgive you. The same goes for yourself. If you don’t make it to the gym on a day you meant to, forgive yourself. By forgiving yourself consistently, it’s easier to move forward and continue to be consistent in other facets of your life.