Consistency = Growth
Habits come in many different shapes and sizes. There are good habits, bad habits, red habits, blue habits. No matter the type, the question people always ask is: how do I form habits? And the answer is almost always consistency.
“good habits, bad habits, red habits, blue habits”
But in reality it’s not so simple is it? Just ask anyone who has ever tried to quit smoking! Consistency is way too simple. Or is it? I would argue that consistency is the key. But how we use that key is the difficult part. Sometimes this is relatively simple:
If you want to build a habit of writing everyday, then simply start writing and be consistent at it
Other times consistency is a little more complex:
If you want to be a healthy person, then you should consistently go to the gym and consistently eat healthy
The consistency is hidden a little bit more in that one. The really neat thing about habits and consistency is that at some point when you are consistent enough, you can form involuntary habits.
As a silly example, think about breathing. I timed myself breathing at a normal rate for 30 seconds and I took about 7 breaths. That means in an average week I am taking 141 thousand breaths of air! In my lifetime I have taken roughly 146 million breaths of air! Now, that is pretty darn consistent! Breathing is the greatest involuntary consistency we do. (Aside from the heart beat I guess).
I realize breathing is just a bodily function, but why can’t I be that consistent with habits in other parts of my life too? Can I put that same kind of urgency towards things I want to get better at? An urgency that would literally feel like drowning if I went a day without writing? I believe I can! But this comes with a heavy price.
Consistency = Time
We only have so much time to spend on our lives. There are only 604 thousand seconds in a week, which means I have lived about 630 million seconds. These numbers are not that far above my breathing pattern. However, the nice thing about breathing is that it is passive. I can actually multitask on that one. Building consistent patterns like writing, cooking, healthy living, all take actual time.
One of my biggest fears is wasting my own time
This is honestly one of my biggest blocks keeping me from diving in and learning new skills. I say things like:
What if I don’t like it?” “What if it is a waste of time I can never get back?”
And sometimes those fears are valid. It probably is a waste of time to consistently watch TV everyday. If there is something I want to get better at like writing, then maybe I should turn off the TV for 30 minutes to write. And to get even better, I could build a consistent habit of doing that everyday.
Consistency is really a double edged sword
Time is definitely valuable, and anything we decide to become consistent at is going to use some of that precious time. We need to be careful and wise in what we put our time towards.
However, don’t let that deter you from trying new things either! I truly believe that experience is experience. If at the end of the day you can say you wasted a week learning how to juggle because you hated it, then who cares!? You learned something. You grew as a person. You were consistent at something.
Sometimes learning the self-discipline of consistency is more important than the thing you are trying to be consistent at.
Remember: Consistency equals both Time and Growth
A version of this post was previously published on medium.com and is republished here with permission from the author.
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