How to Be Consistent

Most people know the good that they ought to do and get it done sometimes. Success lies in our ability to be consistent, but that is also where the problem is. Learn about how to improve your consistency with these insights.

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Transcript

What a dirty word consistency is for some people! Isn’t it? I think just about everyone can relate to idea that being consistent is hard. We can start off strong, feeling incredibly motivated to make a change, and then BOOM. We miss a beat, something throws us off, we take a break, and we lose that consistency so fast. When you are trying to establish new habits, especially, it is so hard to get back on track once you slack off. It starts to feel good to ease up on things a little bit, we compromise and tell ourselves we’ve done well so far, so it can’t hurt to miss it once in a while. No one is perfect, right? The problem is, while it is important to break routine and refresh ourselves occasionally, it is all too easy to stop new behaviors all together once that consistency is disrupted. 

So let’s take a look at why consistency is difficult and then we’ll talk about how we can overcome that and start building some real consistency in our lives where it matters. Why is it so hard to be consistent? Three things:

1.       Unrealistic expectations. 

2.       It requires personal discipline.

3.       Discouragement. 

I’m going to break this down and talk about what those things mean and how we can get over these hurdles. 

Unrealistic expectations. One of the most common mistakes that people make is the New Year’s Resolution. In this new year, I resolve to eat healthy, and lose weight, and start a new business, etc. While there is nothing wrong with setting goals, that’s an unrealistic way to go about it. We as human beings are creatures of habit, and once firm habits are established, we have to go through a gradual process in order to uproot the old habits. Then there is an additional process that we have to go through in order to establish a new habit, and this is also a gradual process.

Why do people think that there is some sort of magic that happens after midnight January first? It is so unrealistic to think that January first is any more special than any other day of the year. There is no extra will power available, we can erase years of bad habits at the stroke of midnight, and we cannot become a new person just because the calendar has changed. Now don’t get me wrong, setting goals and making changes is important, and it is the first step to making changes, but the idea of resolutions equaling immediate and complete transformation is unrealistic. 

So what happens? We start off strong and then we give up. How do we fix that? What level of expectation can we set that won’t set us up for failure? First of all, start today. Choose one step that you can take today to get you towards that goal and take that step today. Don’t wait until January first. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t wait until Monday. Resolve today to begin that journey one step at a time and then do it again the next day. Slow and steady progress, breaking down your goals into the tiniest of steps, focusing on one thing at a time is the only way to successful transformation. 

“Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” It’s unrealistic to think that we can make instant changes without putting in the work over an extended period of time. It is hard work to change, but if you approach it with managed expectations, and you face the reality that it’s not easy and it won’t happen quickly, you will reach your goals. That’s a mindset thing, setting realistic expectations. 

Next is personal discipline. How can we develop a higher level of personal discipline?

I have heard so many people make the excuse that they just don’t have will power to change or they just aren’t build to be consistent. It is such a lie to believe that you are incapable to being consistent. Let me undo this lie right now.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We form consistent behaviors without even realizing it because our subconscious minds naturally recognize patterns and we create these neuropathways in response to things that have happened before. You get up the same way in the morning, you sleep on the same side at night, you get ready in the same order everyday, coffee, shower, etc. The same part of the same movie always makes you laugh or cry. You are consistent, you are built for consistency, the problem is that you are not paying attention to what you are being consistent about.

Personal discipline is another dirty phrase that no one likes and everyone tries to avoid. I have to be the one to break it to you, it’s time to stop making excuses and start making some firm decisions about the life that you want and the goals that you have and you need to put in the work and make the sacrifices for it. You will not make it there on excuses. You can do this. You can do hard things. Say it to yourself, Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” This is not by our own strength. It says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” No excuses, sis.

The very areas that you are weak in are an opportunity for you to surrender to Christ and allow Him to live through you. We as Christian women should be the most self-discipling creatures on the planet because we have Christ. It’s not because we are so strong, it is because God is so strong. We can change because He allows us to. We can do better if we rely on Him. There is no excuse. There is no reason not to be consistent, because if we place these things in God’s hands He gives us the strength, He gives us the power, He gives us the wisdom to do it. Personal discipline begins with seeking God first. If you start with that, everything else that you need personal discipline for with come supernaturally. Not naturally, supernaturally. Glory to God! It’s not about us, it’s about Him. Be self-controlled and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, not yourself, not your flesh, not you own will power. His strength, AMEN?

The third issue with staying consistent is discouragement. We can quickly become discouraged if we don’t see results right away. “I’ve been doing this for two weeks and nothing is happening!” or “When is this going to change, I have been trying for so long and nothing seems to be working.” 

We have to examine our motivations because if we aren’t doing things for the right reasons we’ll eventually give up. We all have things that we want but we don’t want them badly enough to make the changes we need to make, so we just get discouraged and we feel guilty about it and we beat ourselves up for not being good enough. We look at people who have it together already and we decide since we can never be like her we might as well just quit now. 

How can we overcome discouragement?

1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT says, ”So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” I love that, “be strong and immovable.” When we set these goals and we commit them to Christ, it’s not in vain! Do it for the Lord, one step at a time. One of my favorite verses is Galatians 6:9 NLT it says, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Sometimes you just have to make the decision that you aren’t going to give up.

The problem is that we just aren’t going to feel great about everything that we are doing all the time. Saying no to things we used to say yes to is hard. Getting up early everyday is hard. Pushing through that workout, going to work and going to school at night, raising your toddlers, trying to take care of yourself, committing to church, doing things for your family, it’s overwhelming. There are so many things to do and not enough energy, we have time, we just don’t have energy.  We have to sleep at some point, right? This is no joke. But we can’t be discouraged. We need to look to the Lord for our strength. 

I think that one issue is that we think that at some point it should get easier. We believe that struggling means that we are failing, and that’s not true. Struggling doesn’t equal failure. Everyone has a hard time when they are trying to achieve something great. Greatness takes time. The blood, sweat and tears, and all, you know? Struggle is a sign that you are going after something great. If it was easy, then everyone including you would have already hit that goal. If you simply choose not to give up when it becomes hard, you will win this. There is a harvest of blessing waiting for you at the end of this season. You are closer to it than you think. The pain of it all is temporary. You are in a season right now, and seasons change. It will be different in the next season, and if you are going through a painful one, let that be a hopeful reminder and encouragement for you today. It will be over eventually and you will reach that goal. The only way that this effort is wasted is if you give up now. If you keep moving forward, you’ll get there, so don’t stop. No matter what, just don’t stop.

Having support in reaching goals is super important. In my Jesus Women community, I provide support, strategy, encouragement and accountability for Christian women who want to get started achieving their goals. I help them troubleshoot, brainstorm, and overcome those mental blocks that we all deal with. Building consistency is not easy. Change is not easy. Overcoming procrastination and overwhelm is not easy alone. My goal as a life coach is to support change and growth so my sisters in Christ and get where they are trying to go in life. My coaching program, my books, the community is all geared towards that, so check it out at patreon.com/jesuswomen sign up at the free level, or you can support the show at $7/ month. I’m super excited to announce that my coaching program Chosen, Brave and Crushing it! Is launched and ready to go. If you are looking for that 1-1 support and you are interested in working directly with me to achieve your goals in Biblical mindset and productivity, go ahead and check that membership tier out there, it’s all in the same place.

That is all for today. As usual, subscribe if you haven’t already, and remember, don’t quit, get equipped! Take care and God bless you!