The Power of Consistency

The irony of this article is not lost on me.

It has been months since my last article, and I have been reflecting on the power of consistency.

While I have not been consistent in writing, I have been consistent in other areas.

And there are a few learnings I would like to share.

First - You cannot do it all

Personal development is a game of tradeoffs.

In an ideal world, we would be able to do it all.

I love the idea of making small gains in EVERY area of life each week or day.

imagine…

30 minutes of exercise

60 minutes of connection with your spouse

30 minutes of focus time with the kids

30 minutes of reading

30 minutes of reflection

30 minutes of practicing a new skill

15 minutes of meditation

20 minutes of debriefing each evening

holy smokes, we are already at over 4 hours per day…

And I am not even close to completing the list of everything I want to do.

We humans wear many hats.

If you are like me, then you are a:

• Parent
• Spouse
• Leader
• Employee
• Personal Developer
• Hobbyist
• Learner
• Exerciser
• (there is more)

Each hat we wear is a piece of our identity.

To make progress in each area, we must wear that had AND practice, learn, or be intentional with our actions with that role in mind.

And there is not enough time in the day.

If you want to be a good spouse, then the time you spend with your significant other will come at the expense of you being a good parent. It will come at the expense of exercise, learning, working, etc.

Everything we do with our time naturally comes at the expense of every other thing we could do with that time.

To be consistent at anything, we must first decide what is important to us.

Where do you want to develop?

Where do you want to grow?

Which role do you want to level up?

Choose carefully.

Choose intentionally.

Because where the focus goes, energy flows…

Over the last 6 months, my focus has been on personal fitness, family life, and leadership coaching.

This has come at the expense of writing, content creation, and other areas of skill development.

The thing is, I do not regret this decision.

Consider your own list of actions and areas of focus.

Are you intentional about building your skills in certain areas?

Are you focused on leveling up certain areas of your life?

Do you regret NOT focusing on other areas?

By introspecting on your own actions, focus, and decisions, you will discover where you are doing things well and where else you may need to lean in.

Second - You can and should focus your efforts

Growth happens when we are focused and intentional with our efforts.

Just because we cannot do it all does not mean we shouldn’t do anything.

When I was a personal trainer, I used to hear a common excuse for people not exercising.

It sounded something like this:

“I cannot exercise because I don’t have an hour per day to workout.”

This is not a good excuse.

a 15-minute workout is better than a zero-minute workout.

What matters is that you are focused and intentional with your effort.

Just realize that your efforts will come at the expense of everything else you could be doing with that time.

This is why it is crucial you are clear with your intention.

Third - Progress comes from consistency

You do not make gains from completing one workout.

You make gains from completing 160 hours of workouts.

You do not learn from reading one book.

You learn from reading multiple books on the same subject and applying what you learn.

Taking intentional steps over time stacks into learning and growth.

Without the consistent actions, there is nothing for your new actions to stack upon.

So what do you do?

Start by listing out all the roles you play… the hats you wear.

Rate your level of satisfaction in each area.

Then choose 3-5 areas where you desire growth.

At a minimum, I recommend picking at least 3 areas:

• Relational - What relationships are you looking to level up?
• Personal development - How are you growing as a human?
• Professional - How are your improving your skill as a professional?

With these in mind, what is one thing you can do each day to help you level up in each area?

Start by choosing an action that takes at least 15 minutes (and up to an hour) that will improve your skill in each area.

Block this on your calendar.

Then take action.

Nothing will happen at first.

Then nothing will happen on day 2. Or day 3.

But after a month, you will notice an improvement in each area.

Each action will stack on the last, helping you grow and make steady progress.

You can do this, my friends.

And I will commit to return to writing and helping you crush it.

Thanks for being here.

I am rooting for you.

Clark