If you are a fan of college football, you will know this coaches name; Jim Tressel, the head football coach at The Ohio State. Coach Tressel says: “The hallmark of excellence, the test of greatness is consistency.” Think about a great musician; the musician didn’t get to plan in an orchestra by practicing once a week. A great musician practice hones and perfects their instrument by practicing hours and hours every day of the year, year after year. It is that yearning to conquer, to get it right, to have the discipline to keep going until one gets it right.
Each of us has at one time in our lives, wanted to perfect something. Perhaps you tried reasoning, making a list, talking to someone who was where you want to be, made a resolution, wrote down a goal and the steps to get to that goal; but for some reason, you never achieved the thing you thought you wanted most. We need to be inspired and motivated to change. One of my mentors told me this: “Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.”
Let me ask you: “Do you wake up every morning with determination and go to bed every night feeling satisfied?” If you answer “YES” then you are on the right track, and you have consistency in your life. If you answer “NO” then you do not have discipline which leads to consistency to obtain that which you seek.
How do we grow in “consistency?” Consistency isn’t rocket science, and in fact, it is simple, and sometimes we over complicate the growth process. There are two factors to getting to “consistency.”
- Know what you need to improve,
- Know how you are supposed to improve.
We must first master ourselves before we can master something else. To master yourself, you must first know what kind of person you are. Are you easygoing and lack inertia? Are you a take charge and quick decision maker? Perhaps you are the life of the party, but you lack focus. And finally, are you a person who is a perfectionist down to the smallest detail and are afraid to make mistakes. Each personality type described above has strengths and weaknesses.
Steps to “Consistency.”
- Start with the simple stuff first – small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievement gained slowly over time.
- Be patient. The Persian poet Saadi said: “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.”
- Value the Process, enjoy the journey.
- Know why you want to keep improving. Knowing what and how are the hallmarks of consistency.
- Know when you are supposed to improve. You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.
“If you develop the habits of success, you will make success a habit.”
~Michael Angler
Please email me with your questions, comments or suggestions at:
focusrubyhillliving@janicebastani.com.
In June 2017 we will discuss:
“Environment”
