“Success is neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic principles.” – Jim Rohn
I enjoyed seeing Michelle Bridges speak the other day, and when she stressed her 3 C’s for success, she couldn’t have been any clearer. Consistency, Consistency and, yep, you guessed it, Consistency.
It is a theme that is consistently (oh the irony!) drummed home by high achievers. Anthony Robbins believes “It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”
As a leader, ask yourself the following:
- Are you being consistent with your communication? With your moods? With your message?
- Are you being consistent with your feedback and validation? Oprah Winfrey said what stood out for her after interviewing thousands of high achievers and celebrities, was the one question they all asked once they got off camera – “Was that OK?”
- As a team, are you being consistent with your performance, and your results?
- Are you being consistent with your service?
The Challenges
There are challenges to having consistency dominate your way of doing or being – your expectations of yourself get higher, and the flip side is great disappointment if you fail to achieve. Andy Murray said of not getting through to the quarter final of the US Open, “obviously that’s many years of work that’s gone into building that sort of consistency. To lose that is tough.”
Oscar Wilde wasn’t a fan – he claimed “Consistency is the hallmark of the unimaginative.”
It’s also easier to be inconsistent, however it is without doubt a constant ingredient to success. This article in Inc.com outlines the power of consistency.
How to do consistency?
The first thing is that you need to commit to it. Identify what small changes or new habits you can create, have clarity why you would want to do this, and start creating it, day by day. Have a progress checklist on your wall to help with the motivation while you go through that awkward stage of internal battle that is common before a new habit or practice becomes a current habit.
A mentor once quoted their personal trainer – “If you keep turning up every day, you can’t help but get stronger.” Consistency is well worth the effort.