YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO BE CONSISTENT.

Welcome to the year 2021 guys. It’s the year of taking giant strides and achieving all our set goals. In my last article, I explained the importance of self-examination and how setting goals and writing them down helps give your life a trajectory. Intuitively, I know that on a careful self-examination, you probably did not achieve one-third of your objectives for the past year and you beat yourself up about it. Perhaps, you’ve been struggling with inconsistency- At a point, you were all up and doing, actively pursuing, your energy was touching the skies, the vibe was top notch and everything seemed to be going as planned. Then came another period where you became flaccid, lacking the willpower that makes for consistency. Yes! It does happen to everyone. But the distinguishing factor is how we all choose to deal with these periods. Some just outrightly forgo their quest to pursue (The I can’t kill myself people). Others find a nudging reminder of why they started in the first place (this is an effective method to deal with inconsistency). Whichever way we might have been dealing with this in the past, I hope we find the insight needed for consistency in this article. Because – YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO BE CONSISTENT!

Consistency is the ability to constantly produce result regardless of the situation or circumstances. It is the persistence in getting things done even at one’s lowest point. There is always a point in every man’s life where he struggles to keep pushing. Noteworthy it is to state that the starting point of the pursuit of a goal is always the most energetic time. Your enthusiasm and willingness to do all it takes to achieve that goal is without slothfulness. You have made a resolve to go through the means to the end without laxity. Perhaps you have even drawn out a blueprint of the Hows, Whats and When needed. Then, along the line, you begin to struggle to keep up. The exertion that comes with consistency is leaving you exhausted and you probably do not just see the need to do more or keep going on. You just want to relass and be taken kiaruf, lol. At that period, you are at your lowest point, and you need a nudge. This is the reason you must retain a lucid picture of the end result of your pursuit in your mind (you’re studying law, have a vision of your legal career in mind). Then, you must constantly bring back to memory that picture, because, at your lowest point, it is the fuel needed for consistency.

Personally, I never embark on a project or pursue a goal without first visualizing the end result. Like an architect, I have seen the mansion before I had even laid the foundation. So when the going gets tough and I begin to struggle, the picture of the mansion in my memory will push me to keep building. The importance of visualizing the end from the beginning and retaining a picture of that end cannot be overemphasized.

Inconsistency may be as a result of a lopsided understanding of that which you pursue. There’s a limit to how far you’d be willing to pursue what you do not understand. It is difficult to keep up with something you do not have a full grasp of, or something you were coerced to start. This is the reason I always advise people against the band-wagon effect (whilst it is good to emulate people and buy into certain ideologies, please, try to understand those ideologies first). Never set out as an objective an abstruse plan. This is very key. Your objective must be as clear as day to you. It may be abstruse to others, but it must be crystal clear to you. Because at the end of the day, it is YOUR objective to achieve, not anyone else’s.

The Need For Consistency

A wise man once said “One is an Incident, Two is a Coincidence, Three is a Pattern” (an excerpt from Teen Wolf). Let’s put this into perspective using a renowned footballer, Lionel Messi (a mere hypothetical example). Messi scores 45 goals in his first season as a club player. Football lovers would say “it just happened”, “he’s a one season wonder” (Incident). Then he scores 40 goals the following season. “maybe he’s a really prolific goalscorer. We’ll see” they say (Coincidence). Then again he scores 43 goals in his third season (A pattern). Now it is no longer a statement of “it just happened” or “maybe”. A pattern has clearly been established by Messi as a prolific goalscorer. No one is in doubt of his ability to score 40+ goals in a season anymore. He has through consistency established a pattern. Pattern is an undeniable proof of mastery, and mastery earns people’s trust. In that case, everyone has no doubt he will always score 40+ goals per season. Some football fans even trust him enough to stake their money on him to score 40+ goals.

Consistency establishes a pattern, pattern is proof of mastery, and mastery builds trust. Essentially, it means that you cannot gain people’s trust without consistency. And when you’re not trusted, you will never be entrusted with anything. Nobody trusts a one-time achiever. You must through consistency demonstrate an uncanny ability to replicate results. Did you notice how nobody cares what song Burna boy, Wizkid or Davido releases anymore? So long the song carries their name, it is enough for us to want to listen to it. Why? Because we are in no doubt of their ability to churn out hit songs. They have consistently delivered overtime. They didn’t need to ask for our trust, we gave them anyways.

Businesses thrives on the wings of consistency. Nothing truly great is built on the shoulders of inconsistency! In whatever you do and however you do it, always remember – You owe it to yourself to be consistent.