Persistence and consistency: gems of productive living.

Hello there, welcome to this week’s dialogue. Make yourself comfortable while we discus this very important topic that will prove to be worthwhile. But first of all, I hope everyone is coping in the best way possible in these unfamiliar times. Let us all endeavor to continue practicing all the safety protocols recommended by the WHO.

Today’s discussion is going to revolve around a self-help book that I have been reading: the power of focus, written by three gentlemen— Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt. This book contains ten distinct strategies that when put into practice will help you accomplish all your business, lifestyle, and personal goals; however, our discussion today will focus mainly on persistence and consistency. We all know the importance of these attributes when it comes to pursuing goals, but most of us can relate to how hard it is to apply them. So, let’s take a particular look at how we can hone and implement these attributes.

let's dive in!

One word that can be used to describe consistency is regularity, and a word that can be used to describe persistence is perseverance. To be regular could mean different things: it could mean showing up consecutively, without missing a single appointment; making sure you perform all duties, tasks, responsibilities at the appointed times. In addition, to persevere means to endure whatever challenges that might happen to prevent you from performing your duties, or achieving your goals, and to perform them anyways.

I believe that no matter how hungry you are for success, without persistence or consistency, it would be difficult to attain any success. Do you realize how easy it is to “pause” or “take a break” from initiatives that you started recently? Do you also realize how difficult it is resuming those initiatives? I mean no matter how important the actions are and no matter how vital they are to your health, or profession, it would require a lot of will power to go back to performing those actions once you’ve stopped. Also, you might have to start all over, especially if it involves learning a foreign skill or developing a new habit. This means extra time and work may be needed to accomplish your goals.

How can we move from this stage of unproductivity to a place of productivity?

At this point, let’s talk over a few steps that can assist us in being persistent and consistent. The only way to benefit from these attributes is to develop them as new habits. In order to develop these new habits, there are three things involved. The first step is to clearly identify the bad habits (inconsistency and persistence) and to make a choice to be persistent and consistent instead. It’s almost as if these are attributes only a few are blessed with, but almost everything in life is about making choices. The writers made a statement that, whereas some choose to arise from the most difficult setbacks and to create better circumstances for themselves, others choose to lead lives of mediocrity.

Following that, vividly imagine and list all the benefits of these habits that you can think of and lastly, put in place three distinctive measures that ensure that you successfully develop these new habits. For example, look for and read stories of successful people who through persistence and consistency, broke records and claimed territories. You can also ask a family member or friend to keep you on your toes and finally, you can set incessant alarms that remind you that you are supposed to be working on a goal. You can be creative in choosing those three measures to ensure that they are effective.

These three steps are provided in the book and can be practiced when it comes to changing bad, unproductive habits into productive ones. Remember, making the choice to develop these habits and consciously pursuing them will definitely set you on the path to a more fulfilled life. Stay safe!